12月18日 忠心的考驗

我們曉得萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處。（羅八28）

只有忠心耿耿的人，才相信神安排環境。我們往往過於隨便，不相信自己的境遇是神所安排；口頭上雖然說相信，但當事情發生，往往視作人的作為。在任何情況下忠心，是指只有一個忠心的對象，就是我們的主。神若忽然改變某一個環境，我們就發現自己的不忠，因為沒有看出這是出於神。我們根本看不出他的用意，而那件事我們的一生中也不會再重演。忠心的考驗都是在那刻臨到的。我們若學會在苦痛的環境中敬拜他，神願意的話，可以在兩秒鐘內把環境扭轉。

向耶穌基督效忠，是我們今日抗拒的事。我們可以忠於工作、事奉、或任何事情，但別叫我們效忠耶穌基督。不少信徒對效忠基督感到不耐煩。信主的人把主從寶座上推下來，比世界的人更甚。神成為一部祝福人的機器，耶穌基督成為工人中的工人。重點不是在我們為神工作，而是在我們完全效忠，以致他能透過我作工－－“我寄望於你的，是要你全力事奉，不發怨言，不求解釋。”神要用我們，像他用他兒子一樣。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你今天的臉光光照我們，使我們都以極大的甜蜜和自由來配合你的計劃，並且活潑輕快地與你一起走過。

December 18 The Test Of Loyalty

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” Romans 8:28

It is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances. We take such liberty with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to our Lord. Suddenly God breaks up a particular set of circumstances, and the realization comes that we have been disloyal to Him by not recognizing that He had ordered them; we never saw what He was after, and that particular thing will never be repeated all the days of our life. The test of loyalty always comes just there. If we learn to worship God in the trying circumstances, He will alter them in two seconds when He chooses.

Loyalty to Jesus Christ is the thing that we “stick at” to-day. We will be loyal to work, to service, to anything, but do not ask us to be loyal to Jesus Christ. Many Christians are intensely impatient of talking about loyalty to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more emphatically by Christian workers than by the world. God is made a machine for blessing men, and Jesus Christ is made a Worker among workers.

The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us – “I reckon on you for extreme service, with no complaining on your part and no explanation on Mine.” God wants to use us as He used His own Son.