0805 神令人困惑的呼召
「…先知所写的一切事，都要成就在人子身上。」…这些事门徒一样也不懂…《路加福音 18:31, 34》
神呼召耶稣基督到似乎是绝对的灾难境地，而耶稣基督呼召祂的门徒目睹祂被处死，带领他们每个人到心碎之地。除了神的角度之外，从任何角度来看，祂的一生都是绝对的失败。但在人的角度看似失败，从神的角度看却是胜利，因为神的目的与人的目的从来不会一样。
神这种令人困惑的呼召也进入了我们的生活。神的呼召永远无法被绝对地理解或从外在解释；这是一种只能被我们真正内在本性所感知和理解的呼召。神的呼召就像大海的呼唤一样——除了那个里面拥有大海本质的人之外，没有人能听见。神呼召我们的，是无法明确说明的，因为祂的呼召只是要我们成为祂的朋友，以完成祂自己的目的。我们真正的考验在于真正相信神知道祂的欲望是什么。发生的事情并不是偶然发生的——它们完全是按照神的旨意发生的；神至高无上地实现祂自己的目的。
如果我们与神相交并合一，且认识到祂正在带我们进入祂的目的，那么我们就不会再努力找出祂的目的是什么。当我们在基督徒生活中成长时，这对我们来说变得更简单，因为我们不再倾向于说：「我想知道为什么神允许这或那？」我们开始看到生命中每件事的背后都有神令人信服的目的，并且神正在神圣地塑造我们与这个目的合一。基督徒是相信神的知识和智慧的人，而不是相信自己能力的人。如果我们有自己的目的，就会破坏神儿女应有的单纯和平静、轻松的步伐。
来自章伯斯的智慧
真诚意味着外表和实际完全一致。《登山宝训研究》
0805 The Bewildering Call of God
“…and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be ccomplished.”…But they understood none of these things… —Luke 18:31, 34
God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose.
This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.
If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L