0803 神令人信服之目的
他…對他們說：「看哪，我們上耶路撒冷去。」《路加福音 18:31》
耶路撒冷在我們主的生命中，代表了祂實現天父旨意的巔峰之地。耶穌說：「…我不求自己的意思，只求那差我來者的意思。」（約翰福音5:30）。尋求遵行「天父的旨意」是我們的主一生中最主要的關心。無論祂一路上遇到的是喜樂還是悲傷，是成功還是失敗，祂從未從那目的中知難而退。 「…他就定意向耶路撒冷去…」（路加福音 9:51）
我們要記住最重要的是，我們上耶路撒冷是為了實現神的目的，而不是我們自己的目的。在天然人的生活中，我們的野心是自己的雄心壯志，但在基督徒的生活中，我們沒有自己的目標。今日我們談論了很多關於我們為基督的決定，我們成為基督徒的決心，以及我們對這個或那個的決定，但在新約中，唯一被提出的是這個神的令人信服之目的。「不是你們揀選了我，是我揀選了你們…」（約翰福音 15:16）。
我們不是有意識地贊同神的目的，我們是在毫無意識的情況下就被帶入神的目的中。我們不知道神的目標可能是什麼；隨着我們繼續前行，祂的目標變得甚至越來越模糊。神的目標似乎偏離標靶，因為我們目光太短淺，以至於看不到祂所瞄準的目標。在基督徒生活的開始，我們對神的目的有自己的想法。我們說：「神的意思要我去那裡」，並且「神呼召我去做這項特殊的工作。」我們做我們認為正確的事，但神令人信服之目的仍然在我們身上。與神令人信服之目的相比，我們所做的工作是微不足道的；那只是圍繞着祂的工作和計劃的鷹架。 「耶穌帶着十二個門徒【在身邊】…」（路加福音18:31）。神一直把我們帶在身邊；我們還沒有完全了解神令人信服之目的。
來自章伯斯的智慧
沒有任何生活狀態是我們不能住在耶穌里的。無論我們被放置何處，我們都必須學會住在祂裡面。《我們的輝煌遺產》
0803 The Compelling Purpose of God
He…said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…” —Luke 18:31
Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. “…He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem…” (Luke 9:51).
The greatest thing for us to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God’s purpose, not our own. In the natural life our ambitions are our own, but in the Christian life we have no goals of our own. We talk so much today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, and our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament the only aspect that is brought out is the compelling purpose of God. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” (John 15:16).
We are not taken into a conscious agreement with God’s purpose— we are taken into God’s purpose with no awareness of it at all. We have no idea what God’s goal may be; as we continue, His purpose becomes even more and more vague. God’s aim appears to have missed the mark, because we are too nearsighted to see the target at which He is aiming. At the beginning of the Christian life, we have our own ideas as to what God’s purpose is. We say, “God means for me to go over there,” and, “God has called me to do this special work.” We do what we think is right, and yet the compelling purpose of God remains upon us. The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan. “He took the twelve aside…” (Luke 18:31). God takes us aside all the time. We have not yet understood all there is to know of the compelling purpose of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed. –Our Brilliant Heritage