8月7日

標　　題：現在！

經　　節：又有一個門徒對耶穌說：「主啊，容我先回去埋葬我的父親。」（馬太福音八章21節）

基督徒最大的掙扎，通常不在於作出順服基督的決定，而在於是否願意馬上順服。我們可能會承認自己需要跟隨基督，及完全委身於神要我們去做的事。然而，當神向我們啟示祂的旨意時，就是我們順服的時刻！神旨意的啟示是祂的邀請，需要你立即回應。

有些人自稱是基督徒，信誓旦旦要跟隨耶穌，但他們卻又說自己還沒準備好。在耶穌時代，猶太人有責任要奉養年老雙親到他們離世。有一個門徒表示，要等到為父母送終之後，才要跟隨耶穌。這似是高尚的延遲，他得在人生重要責任和主的呼召之間選擇。神認識這個人，也認識這人的父親。只要這人跟隨耶穌，神會看顧他的父親。他本來有機會與神子同行，但他對生活的憂慮，超過了自己對神的順服。

我們順服的時機，是個重要的關鍵。由神來的邀請是有回應的限制。如果沒有馬上領受它，我們會失去一些服事祂的機會。幫助其他信徒的時機稍縱即逝。當神邀請我們為某人代求，我們立即放下手上的工作，調整自己對準神的作為，這是十分重要的。失去事奉主的機會是個悲劇。當你收到神的邀請時，當立即回應。

Now!

Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." (Matthew 8:21)

Often our struggle as Christians is not in deciding whether we should obey Christ but in obeying immediately. We may acknowledge our need to follow Christ and commit ourselves to do what He has told us. Yet when God reveals His will to us, that is the time to obey! God’s revelation of His will is His invitation to respond immediately.

Some would-be disciples pledged their willingness to follow Jesus, but they told Him they were not ready yet. In Jesus’ day, a Jewish man was expected to care for his elderly parents until they died. One man wanted to wait until his father died before going with Jesus. This would be an honorable delay. The man had to choose between this important responsibility and heeding a call from the Lord. Yet God knew this man, and He knew the man’s father. God would have taken care of the man’s father, if he only would have followed Jesus. This was an opportunity to walk with the Son of God, yet the concerns of this life were competing for priority with obedience to God.

Timing our obedience is crucial. Invitations from God come with a limited opportunity to respond. Some opportunities to serve Him, if not accepted immediately, will be lost. Occasions to minister to others may pass us by. When God invites us to intercede for someone, it may be critical that we stop what we are doing and immediately adjust our lives to what God is doing. Missing opportunities to serve the Lord can be tragic. When an invitation comes from God, the time to respond is now.