2月25日


章伯斯原著 | 听见录制 | 主播：胡正军


难道我越发爱你们，就越发少得你们爱吗？（林后12：15）


天然的爱是期望回报的，但保罗却说：“我不管你爱不爱我，我甘愿竭尽一切牺牲自己，不单是为你的缘故，更是要把你带到神那里。”“你们知道主耶稣基督的恩典，祂本来富足，却为你们成了贫穷。”

保罗事奉的观念正是：“不管我怎样竭尽心力，也是甘心情愿的。”对保罗来说，这是一件乐事。


一般传统教会对作神仆人的观念，并不是耶稣基督的观念。祂的观念是要我们藉着服侍人而事奉祂。耶稣基督的思想比社会主义者更富社会主义的色彩。祂说在祂的国里，最大的要作众人的仆人。


作圣徒真正的考验不在传讲福音，乃在洗门徒的脚，就是做那些在人眼光中无足轻重的事，在神看来却是非常重要。


保罗乐意为神的缘故，不计算代价地为别人耗尽一切。但我们会把经济和个人问题带过来——“假如神要我到那里，薪金怎样？气候怎样？福利怎样？人总要考虑这些的。”这一切表示我们事奉神仍有保留，而使徒保罗却毫无保留。


主耶稣对新约圣徒的观念，保罗都集中在自己的生活中。他不但传播福音，更为别人成为擘开的饼、倒出来的酒。

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祈祷


噢，主啊，求祢今天使那导致我们在祢的事奉中软弱无力的自我意识，永远消失。这样，我们所知道的，便只有耶稣。


图片来源：网络

The Destitution of Service


…though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. —2 Corinthians 12:15


Natural human love expects something in return. But Paul is saying, “It doesn’t really matter to me whether you love me or not. I am willing to be completely destitute anyway; willing to be poverty-stricken, not just for your sakes, but also that I may be able to get you to God.” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…” (2 Corinthians 8:9). And Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s. He did not care how high the cost was to himself— he would gladly pay it. It was a joyful thing to Paul.


The institutional church’s idea of a servant of God is not at all like Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of others. Jesus Christ actually “out-socialized” the socialists. He said that in His kingdom the greatest one would be the servant of all (see Matthew 23:11). The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet— that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God. It was Paul’s delight to spend his life for God’s interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. But before we will serve, we stop to ponder our personal and financial concerns— “What if God wants me to go over there? And what about my salary? What is the climate like there? Who will take care of me? A person must consider all these things.” All that is an indication that we have reservations about serving God. But the apostle Paul had no conditions or reservations. Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ’s idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others.