4月28日
標 題: 耶穌是你的門
經 節: 我就是門;凡從我進來的,必然得救,並且出入得草吃。(約翰福音十章9節)
身為基督徒,我們認為神「打開門」是顯明祂旨意的其中一個方式。我們要求神巧妙地策劃我們的環境,好得著自己認為最好的情況。問題是我們誤解門的意義。耶穌說祂是門,與環境毫不相關,因為沒有一個人能夠關掉耶穌所開的門(啟示錄三:8)。如果你已經以活動代替與神的關係,環境會使你的活動陷入混亂。當你的活動受阻,你可能會以為這道門被關閉。然而,基督是你生命之門,祂會指引你去體驗祂要你經歷的事。沒有任何人可以阻止祂。
當保羅與西拉在腓立比被打下監獄,他們在希臘事工的門,似乎會在暴力中被緊緊關閉(使徒行傳十六:22∼24)。然而,他們真實的處境是主為他們開了一扇門,向過去難以接觸的監獄囚犯傳福音。這位腓立比獄卒和他的全家,成為腓立比新教會的重要核心份子。從人類的角度來看,一扇門關了;從神的角度來看,卻是保羅與西拉正確地在神要他們去的地方傳福音。
當人們敵對我們,我們可能會變得失去勇氣,或者是擔心其他人會怎麼對付我們。我們可能想要靠自己的雙手,去完成自己認為神所交付的使命。這顯露出我們並不是真的相信耶穌是生命的門。如果真的相信,我們會確信自己藉著基督,可以完成所有祂交付的使命。
Jesus Is Your Door
"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will
go in and out and find pasture." (John 10:9)
As Christians, we talk about God “opening doors” to us as a means of His
revealing His will. What we are asking God to do is engineer our circumstances
to match what we think would be best. The problem is that we misunderstand what
the door is. Jesus said He is the door. Circumstances are irrelevant, for no
one can shut the door that Jesus opens (Rev. 3:8). If you have substituted
activity for your relationship with Christ, then circumstances can disrupt your
activity. When the activity is hindered, you may assume the door has been
closed. Yet, if Christ is the door in your life, He will guide you into every
experience of Him that He wants, and there will be nothing that people can do
to stop Him.
When Paul and Silas were thrown into prison at Philippi, it appeared
that the door to their ministry in Greece had been violently and firmly closed
(Acts 16:22–24). The reality of their situation, however, was that their Lord
had opened a door of ministry to a previously unreached group of men in prison.
The Philippian jailer and his household would become a significant nucleus of
the new church in Philippi. From a human perspective, a door had been closed;
from God’s perspective, Paul and Silas continued to minister exactly where God
wanted them to.
When people oppose us, we can become discouraged or worry about what
others are doing to us. We may even try to take matters into our own hands to
accomplish what we think God wants. This reveals that we do not really believe
Jesus is the door for our lives. If we did, we would be assured that through
Christ we have access to everything He wants to do in and through us.