12月10日 獻上天然生命

亞伯拉罕有兩個兒子，一個是使女生的，一個是自主之婦人生的。（加四22）

保羅在加拉太書這一章中，不是討論罪的問題，而是討論天然與屬靈二者的關係。天然的必須獻上，成為屬靈，否則在實際生活上，會產生很大的分歧。為什麼神要命定天然生命必須被釘死？神並沒有如此命定。這並不是神的命令，而是他許可的旨意。神的命令是要肉體的生命藉順服成為屬靈；因為罪，肉體的生命才必須成為祭品。

亞伯拉罕必須先獻上以實瑪利，才能獻上以撒。不少人想在未治死肉體之先，就獻屬靈的祭給神。向神獻屬靈的祭唯一的途徑，就是把身體當作活祭獻上。成聖不只是脫離罪惡，乃是立志把神所救贖出來的這個自己交付神，是不惜任何代價的。

若不把天然生命獻給屬靈生命，那肉體生命會嘲弄神兒子在我們裡面的生命，而產生一種延續的拉鋸戰。這是一個不受約束的屬靈品性必然的後果。我們走差路，是因為執意不肯在身體、道德及心志上操練管治自己。“作孩子的時候，不受約束”。如今你必須約束自己。否則，你會毀掉整個為神而活的生命。

我們若放任肉體的生命，神就不與它同在；但當我們肯把它放逐出去，決意制服它，神就與它同在，啟開活井綠洲，成就對肉體生命的一切應許。

祈禱◆願你使這一整天，成為甘甜和喜樂的日子。願你那隨心所欲的大能，恩慈地臨到我的身心靈，讓我們藉此承擔今天的一切事情。

December 10 The Offering Of The Natural

“Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.” Galatians 4:22

Paul is not dealing with sin in this chapter of Galatians, but with the relation of the natural to the spiritual. The natural must be turned into the spiritual by sacrifice, otherwise a tremendous divorce will be produced in the actual life. Why should God ordain the natural to be sacrificed? God did not. It is not God's order, but His permissive will. God's order was that the natural should be transformed into the spiritual by obedience; it is sin that made it necessary for the natural to be sacrificed.

Abraham had to offer up Ishmael before he offered up Isaac. Some of us are trying to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God before we have sacrificed the natural. The only way in which we can offer a spiritual sacrifice to God is by presenting our bodies a living sacrifice. Sanctification means more than deliverance from sin, it means the deliberate commitment of myself whom God has saved to God, and that I do not care what it costs.

If we do not sacrifice the natural to the spiritual, the natural life will mock at the life of the Son of God in us and produce a continual swither. This is always the result of an undisciplined spiritual nature. We go wrong because we stubbornly refuse to discipline ourselves, physically, morally or mentally. “I wasn't disciplined when I was a child.” You must discipline yourself now. If you do not, you will ruin the whole of your personal life for God.

God is not with our natural life while we pamper it; but when we put it out in the desert and resolutely keep it under, then God will be with it; and He will open up wells and oases, and fulfill all His promises for the natural.