0913 降服之后,然后又如何呢?
…你所托付我的事,我已成全了。 《约翰福音 17:4》
真正的降服不只是我们外在生活的降服,而是我们意志的降服——一旦做到了,降服就完成了。我们所面临最大的危机乃是意志的降服;然而神从不强迫人的意志降服,祂也从不乞求。祂耐心地等待,直到那个人心甘情愿地向祂屈服。一旦这场争战打完,就不再需要再打了。
得释放的降服。「到我这里来…我就使你们得安息。」(马太福音 11:28)。只有当我们开始体验救恩真正含义之后明白了,我们才会将自己的意志降服于耶稣,得着安息。任何导致我们不确定感受的,实际上都是对我们意志的呼召——「到我这里来」,而且是自愿的来。
献身的降服。「若有人要跟从我,就当舍己…」(马太福音16:24)。这里的降服,是把我自己交给耶稣,怀着祂的安息在我本体的核心。祂说:「如果你想成为我的门徒,你必须将你自己的权利交给我。」一旦做到这一点,你的余生将只展现出降服的证据,你永远不需要再担心未来会发生什么。无论你的处境如何,耶稣都是完全足够的(见哥林多后书 12:9 和腓立比书 4:19)。
至死的降服。 「…别人要把你束上…」(约翰福音 21:18;另见约翰福音 21:19)。你知道束紧至死,是什么意思吗?要警惕你在生命中欣喜若狂时刻向神的降服,因为你很容易再将它收回。真正的降服是「…在祂死的形状上[与祂]联合。」(罗马书6:5),直到没有什么吸引祂的事物,那些也不吸引你。
在你降服后——然后又如何呢?你整个生命应该具有渴望保持与神不间断团契和合一的特征。
来自章伯斯的智慧
狂热分子是一个将自己根深蒂固于无敌的无知之中的人。《力图更佳战斗》
0913 After Surrender— Then What?
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. —John 17:4
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.
Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of myself to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).
Surrender for Death. “…another will gird you…” (John 21:18; also see John 21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
A fanatic is one who entrenches himself in invincible ignorance. Baffled to Fight Better, 59 R