0818 你可曾滿懷憂傷而無語？
他聽見這話，就甚憂愁，因為他很富足。《路加福音 18:23》
這位有錢的少年官滿懷憂傷地離開了耶穌，無言以對。他耶穌所說的話及其含義毫不懷疑，但這話語在他心中引發了無法用言語表達的悲傷。你曾否有過這樣的經歷？神的話語是否曾經臨到你，指出你生命中的某個領域，要你降服於祂？也許祂已經指出了某些個人品質、慾望和興趣，或可能是與你內心和思想上有關的。如果是這樣，那麼你常常無言以對，滿懷憂傷。主不會追着你，祂也不會求你。但每次祂在祂所指出的地方與你相遇時，祂只會重複祂的話，說：「如果你真的說到做到，這些就是條件。」
「要變賣你一切所有的…」（路加福音 18:22）。換句話說，在神面前丟棄自己一切可能被視為財產的東西，直到你只是一個站在祂面前有意識的人，然後把那些交給神。那才是真正的爭戰所在——在神面前，你的意志領域內。你是否更專註於你認為耶穌想要什麼而不是耶穌本人？如果是這樣，你可能會聽到祂一些嚴厲而不妥協的話語，這會讓你感到悲傷。耶穌的話很艱難——只有那些有祂性情的人才能輕鬆聽到。小心不要讓任何事物軟化耶穌基督的嚴厲話語。
我可以在自己的貧窮，或者在意識到自己是無名小卒的事實中，如此富有，以至於我永遠不會成為耶穌的門徒。或我可以在意識到我是個重要人物，如此富有，以至我永遠不會成為門徒。我是否願意在意識到自己的一無所有和貧窮中，依然一無所有和貧窮？如果不，那就是我沮喪的原因。沮喪是自愛的幻滅，而自愛可能愛我對耶穌的委身，而不是對耶穌祂本人的愛。
來自章伯斯的智慧
「人子來的時候，遇得見世上有信德么？」我們對良好的原則、良好的管理、良好的常識都有信心，但我們當中誰對耶穌基督有信心呢？身體上的勇氣是偉大的，道德上的勇氣更偉大，但是在面對生活中巨大問題時信靠耶穌基督的人，抵得上一群英雄。《至善》
0818 Have You Ever Been Speechless with Sorrow?
When he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. —Luke 18:23
The rich young ruler went away from Jesus speechless with sorrow, having nothing to say in response to Jesus’ words. He had no doubt about what Jesus had said or what it meant, and it produced in him a sorrow with no words with which to respond. Have you ever been there? Has God’s Word ever come to you, pointing out an area of your life, requiring you to yield it to Him? Maybe He has pointed out certain personal qualities, desires, and interests, or possibly relationships of your heart and mind. If so, then you have often been speechless with sorrow. The Lord will not go after you, and He will not plead with you. But every time He meets you at the place where He has pointed, He will simply repeat His words, saying, “If you really mean what you say, these are the conditions.”
“Sell all that you have…” (Luke 18:22). In other words, rid yourself before God of everything that might be considered a possession until you are a mere conscious human being standing before Him, and then give God that. That is where the battle is truly fought— in the realm of your will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus wants than to Jesus Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His harsh and unyielding statements that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is difficult— it is only easy when it is heard by those who have His nature in them. Beware of allowing anything to soften the hard words of Jesus Christ.
I can be so rich in my own poverty, or in the awareness of the fact that I am nobody, that I will never be a disciple of Jesus. Or I can be so rich in the awareness that I am somebody that I will never be a disciple. Am I willing to be destitute and poor even in my sense of awareness of my destitution and poverty? If not, that is why I become discouraged. Discouragement is disillusioned self-love, and self-love may be love for my devotion to Jesus— not love for Jesus Himself.
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.—The Highest Good, 544 R