1127 靈力的奉獻
…對於我來說，世界已經釘在十字架上，對於世界來說，我也已經釘在十字架上。《加拉太書 6:14》
如果我沉思基督的十字架，我不僅內心會變得虔誠，只對自己的聖潔感興趣，我還變得更加關注耶穌基督的利益。我們的主不是隱士，也不是操練自我否定的狂熱聖徒。身體上祂並沒有將自己與社會隔絕，但祂的內心始終與社會隔絕。祂並非超然孤立，但祂活在另一個世界；事實上，祂如此沉浸在一般的日常生活中，以至於當時宗教人士指責祂是一個貪食好酒的人。然而，我們的主從未允許任何事情干擾祂將屬靈力量奉獻給神。
認為我們可以拒絕現在被神使用，以便儲存靈力以備後用，那不是真正的奉獻；那是一個無望的錯誤。神的靈已經使許多人從罪惡中得釋放，然而他們卻未經歷豐滿的生命，沒有真正的自由感。今日我們在世界各地看到那種宗教生活，與耶穌基督充滿活力的聖潔生活完全不同。「我不求你叫他們離開世界，只求你保守他們脫離那惡者。（或作脫離罪惡）」（約翰福音 17:15）。我們是活在這個世界上，但不屬於這個世界，是內在與世界分離，而非外在分離（見約翰福音17:16）；我們決不能讓任何事情干擾我們靈力的奉獻。
奉獻（獻給神的服事）是我們的本分，成聖（從罪分離出來，成為聖潔）是神的部分。我們必須下定決心，只關注神所關注的事。當面對令人困惑的問題時，要下定那個決心的方法，就是問自己：「這是耶穌基督所關注的事，還是敵對耶穌的靈所關注的事？」
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》
1127 The Consecration of Spiritual Power
…by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. —Galatians 6:14
If I dwell on the Cross of Christ, I do not simply become inwardly devout and solely interested in my own holiness— I become strongly focused on Jesus Christ’s interests. Our Lord was not a recluse nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so much in the common everyday world that the religious people of His day accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard. Yet our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His consecration of spiritual power.
It is not genuine consecration to think that we can refuse to be used of God now in order to store up our spiritual power for later use. That is a hopeless mistake. The Spirit of God has set a great many people free from their sin, yet they are experiencing no fullness in their lives— no true sense of freedom. The kind of religious life we see around the world today is entirely different from the vigorous holiness of the life of Jesus Christ. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). We are to be in the world but not of it— to be separated internally, not externally (see John 17:16). We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual power.
Consecration (being dedicated to God’s service) is our part; sanctification (being set apart from sin and being made holy) is God’s part. We must make a deliberate determination to be interested only in what God is interested. The way to make that determination, when faced with a perplexing problem, is to ask yourself, “Is this the kind of thing in which Jesus Christ is interested, or is it something in which the spirit that is diametrically opposed to Jesus is interested?”
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