0714 忍受磨难与走第二里路
只是我告诉你们，不要与恶人作对。有人打你的右脸，连左脸也转过来由他打。 《马太福音 5:39》
这节经文揭示了身为基督徒的羞辱，在自然界中，如果一个人不还手，那是因为他是一个懦夫；但在属灵的领域中，如果他不反击，那正是神的儿子在他里面的明证。当你受侮辱时，你不仅不能怨恨它，而且必须把它当作在你生命中展示神的儿子的机会。你无法模仿耶稣的本性——它要么在你里面，要么不在你里面。个人的侮辱成为圣徒去展现主耶稣难以置信的甜美的机会。
登山宝训的教导不是「尽你的责任」，实际上乃是「尽超出你的责任」。走第二里路或转另一边的脸不是你的责任，但耶稣说，如果我们是祂的门徒，我们总是会做这些事；我们不会说：「唉，算了，我就是无法再做什么了，我一直如此被曲解和误会。」每当我坚持要求自己的权利时，我伤害了神的儿子，然而事实上，如果我愿意自己承受打击，我就可以防止耶稣受伤。这就是「…要在我肉身上补满基督患难的缺欠」的真正含义（歌罗西书1:24）。门徒意识到，在他的生命中，那是关系到他的主的荣耀，而不是他自己的荣耀。
永远不要在别人身上寻找公义，但你自己永远不要停止是公义的。我们总是在寻求公正，但登山宝训教导的本质是——永远不要寻求公正，但也永远不要停止给出公正。
来自章伯斯的智慧
「人子来的时候，遇得见世上有信德么？」我们对良好的原则、良好的管理、良好的常识都有信心，但我们当中谁对耶稣基督有信心呢？身体上的勇气是伟大的，道德上的勇气更伟大，但是在面对生活中巨大问题时信靠耶稣基督的人，抵得上一群英雄。《至善》
0714 Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile
I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. —Matthew 5:39
This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is either in you or it is not. A personal insult becomes an opportunity for a saint to reveal the incredible sweetness of the Lord Jesus.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.
Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” We all have faith in good principles, in good management, in good common sense, but who amongst us has faith in Jesus Christ? Physical courage is grand, moral courage is grander, but the man who trusts Jesus Christ in the face of the terrific problems of life is worth a whole crowd of heroes. —from “The Highest Good”, 544 R