1229 叛徒還是門徒？
從此他門徒中多有退去的，不再和他同行。《約翰福音6:66》
當神通過祂的聖靈和祂的話語，向你清楚顯明祂的旨意時，你必須「在光明中行」（約翰一書 1:7）。即使你的思想和靈魂可能為此而激動，如果你不「在光明中行」，你就會沉落到一種束縛的境地，那從來就不是我們的主所設想的。精神上違背「天上來的異象」（使徒行傳 26:19），會使你成為思想和觀點的奴隸，那些是完全與耶穌基督無關的。不要看着別人說：「如果他能有這些觀點並且亨通成功，為什麼我不能？」你必須在已賜給你的異象「光明中行」。不要將自己與他人比較或論斷他們，那是神和他們之間的事。當你發現自己最喜歡和深信不疑的觀點與「天上來的異象」相衝突時，不要開始爭論。如果你爭辯，你就會有一種個人的財產感和權利意識，而耶穌並不看重這些東西。祂反對這些事，認為它們是與祂自己相悖所有事物的根源——「…因為人的生命不在乎家道豐富。」（路加福音 12:15）。如果我們看不到和理解這一點，那是因為我們忽視了主教導的根本原則。
我們傾向於躺平，沉浸在神顯明祂旨意時我們所經歷的美好時光的回憶中。但若神的光向我們揭示了新約的標準，我們卻不努力去達標，甚至沒有想要去做的傾向，那麼我們就開始退步了。這意味着你的良心沒有回應真理。在真理揭開之後，你再也不會一樣。那一刻就標誌着你要麼繼續更加委身成為耶穌基督的門徒，要麼就像叛徒轉身退後。
來自章伯斯的智慧
關於敬畏神的非凡之處，乃是當你敬畏神時，你一無所懼，然而若你不敬畏神，你凡事都怕。「敬畏耶和華的人是有福的。」《至善—朝聖者歌集》
1229 Deserter or Disciple?
From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. —John 6:66
When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must “walk in the light” of that vision (1 John 1:7). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t “walk in the light” of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, “Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?” You have to “walk in the light” of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the “heavenly vision,” do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— “…for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.
Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;… The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L