6月16日 你怎樣對這事？

人為朋友捨命，人的愛心沒有比這個大的。……我乃稱你們為朋友。（約十五13、15）

耶穌雖然沒有叫我為他死，卻要我為他把生命放下。彼得說：“我願意為你捨命。”他說的是真心話，他的英雄意識是偉大的。若不能像彼得那樣宣告，實在太差勁了。我們的責任感只有藉著英雄意識，發揮出來。主曾否問你說：“你不願意為我捨命嗎？”在平凡的生活中，因不忘從上而來的呼召而放下生命，比一死了之困難得多。人生不是為壯烈的一刻而活，乃是在平凡的路上，行在啟示的光中。耶穌一生中，也只有一個壯烈的時刻，就是在登山變像的時候；後來他再度從榮耀中倒空自己，下到鬼附的山谷裡。三十年之久，耶穌擺上自己的生命來遵行父神的旨意。

約翰說：“我們也當為弟兄捨命。”這樣行是違反人性的。我若是耶穌的朋友，就要定意為他放下自己的生命。難是難的，感謝神，難並不要緊！救恩是易得的，因為神付出了重大的代價，但要在我生命中彰顯出來，卻是困難重重。神救了一個人，把聖靈賜給他，然後認真的對他說：“好了，要忠於我，即使周遭的事物會令你不忠。”“我乃稱你們為朋友。”要忠於你的朋友，要緊記你肉身的生命，是神尊榮得失之所系。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你所賜的救恩，為著聖徒的禱告所帶來的好處和祝福，我讚美你。可是，我是那樣悄悄地領受了你的恩惠，很久才開始思想自己是否配得領受，或是表現得好像自己配得領受一樣。主啊，赦免我。

June 16 What Do You Make Of This?

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.” . . . “I have called you friends.” John 15:13, 15

Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. Peter said – “I will lay down my life for Thy sake” and he meant it; his sense of the heroic was magnificent. It would be a bad thing to be incapable of making such a declaration as Peter made; the sense of our duty is only realized by our sense of the heroic. Has the Lord ever asked you – “Wilt thou lay down thy life for My sake?” It is far easier to die than to lay down the life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling. We are not made for brilliant moments, but we have to walk in the light of them in ordinary ways. There was only one brilliant moment in the life of Jesus, and that was on the Mount of Transfiguration; then He emptied Himself the second time of His glory, and came down into the demon-possessed valley. For thirty-three years Jesus laid out His life to do the will of His Father, and, John says, “we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” It is contrary to human nature to do it.

If I am a friend of Jesus, I have deliberately and carefully to lay down my life for Him. It is difficult, and thank God it is difficult. Salvation is easy because it cost God so much, but the manifestation of it in my life is difficult. God saves a man and endues him with the Holy Spirit, and then says in effect – “Now work it out, be loyal to Me, whilst the nature of things round about you would make you disloyal.” “I have called you friends.” Stand loyal to your Friend, and remember that His honour is at stake in your bodily life.