1001 提升之地
…耶穌帶着…暗暗地上了高山…《馬可福音 9:2》
我們都經歷過山頂欣喜的時刻，當我們會從神的角度看待事物，並想留在那裡的時刻不再下來。但神絕不會允許我們留在那裡。我們靈命的真正考驗是展現在從山上下來的能力。如果我們只有上山的力量，那就有問題了。與神同在山上是件美好的事，但一個人到那裡，只是為了以後能下山把山谷中被鬼附的人提升（見馬可福音9:14-18）。我們受造不是為山頂、日出或生活中其它美麗的景點——那些只是用來激發靈感的時刻。我們是為山谷和生活中的平凡事物而生，那正是我們必須證明自己耐力/毅力和力量的地方。然而，我們靈命的自私總是想要重複山頂的時刻；我們覺得如果我們能留在山頂，我們就能像完美天使一樣說話和生活。那些提升欣喜時刻是例外的，它們在我們與神同在的生活中有其意義，但我們必須小心，避免我們靈性自私想要使它們成為唯一的時刻。
我們傾向於認為，發生的每一件事都要轉化為有用的教導；事實上，它是要變成比教導更好的東西，那就是品格。山頂並不意味要教導我們任何事，而是要使我們成為什麼。總是問「這種經歷有什麼用」會陷入一個可怕的陷阱；我們永遠無法以那種方式來衡量屬靈事件。在山頂的時刻是罕有的，它們是為了神某個目的而有的。
來自章伯斯的智慧
人類的選擇是在兩者中間做出的；開始和結束都在神手中。神的命定是生與死，在生死之間，人類製造了自己的痛苦或歡樂。《神手之蔭》
1001 The Place of Exaltation
…Jesus took…them up on a high mountain apart by themselves… —Mark 9:2
We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain, when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. But God will never allow us to stay there. The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain. If we only have the power to go up, something is wrong. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley (see Mark 9:14-18). We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life— those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet our spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain. We feel that we could talk and live like perfect angels, if we could only stay on the mountaintop. Those times of exaltation are exceptional and they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware to prevent our spiritual selfishness from wanting to make them the only time.
We are inclined to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching. In actual fact, it is to be turned into something even better than teaching, namely, character. The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a terrible trap in always asking, “What’s the use of this experience?” We can never measure spiritual matters in that way. The moments on the mountaintop are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
It is in the middle that human choices are made; the beginning and the end remain with God. The decrees of God are birth and death, and in between those limits man makes his own distress or joy. Shade of His Hand, 1223 L