12月6日

標　　題：一顆愛神的心

經　　節：我喜愛良善，不喜愛祭祀；喜愛認識神，勝於燔祭。（何西阿書六章6節）

對神而言，再多的行動也抵不上一顆愛神的心。曆世歷代以來，神的百姓以為，不管內心狀態如何，自己的事奉及金錢奉獻足以討神歡喜。掃羅王慷慨地奉獻祭品，希望神會不計較他的不順服（撒母耳記上十五：22-23）。大衛可能以為，自己為神做那麼多事，神會寬容他的罪（撒母耳記下十二：7-15）。亞拿尼亞與撒非喇以為，自己對教會慷慨捐獻，可以抵消他們欺詐的行為（使徒行傳五：l-11）。保羅本來以為，自己的熱心能夠討神歡喜。但在信主之後，他下了個結論說，如果他有全備的信心可以移山、將所有財產周濟窮人、獻上性命成為祭物被焚燒，然而，只要他的心態不對，一切都沒有益處（哥林多前書十三：1-3）。

每個人都很容易受此錯誤的認知所影響。我們可能被蒙蔽，以為神對我們的活動比對我們的心態更感興趣。神始終如一地告訴我們，如果我們的心不對，即使是獻上最豐碩的祭物和最熱心的服事，神一點也不會滿意的（彌迦書六：6-8）。不管你在教會有多少事奉、活動，或在基督教圈子裡多有名望，神不會寬容一顆罪惡的心。祂想要的，是我們竭力去認識祂，並且全心全意愛祂。

A Heart That Loves God

For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)

No amount of activity for God will ever take the place of a heart that is right with Him. Through the ages God’s people have been persuaded that they could please Him through their service and their offerings, regardless of their heart condition. King Saul offered generous sacrifices, hoping God would overlook his disobedience (1 Sam. 15:22–23). David may have assumed that after all he had done on God’s behalf, God would overlook his sin (2 Sam. 12:7–15). Ananias and Sapphira thought that their generous gift to the church would compensate for their deceitfulness (Acts 5:1–11). Paul was certainly one who had thought his zealousness would please God. After his conversion, however, he concluded that even if he had faith to remove mountains, gave all he had to feed the poor, and offered his body to be burned for the sake of God, and yet had a heart that was not right, it would all be for nothing (1 Cor. 13:1–3).

We are susceptible to the same misunderstanding as all of these people were. We can be deceived into assuming God is more interested in our activity for Him than He is in the condition of our heart. God has consistently made it clear that He will not be pacified by even the most generous offerings and zealous service if our hearts are not right with Him (Mic. 6:6–8). No matter how much we do in God’s service, regardless of how active we are in our church, no matter how honorable our reputation in the Christian community, He will not overlook a sinful heart. His desire is that we devote ourselves to knowing Him and loving Him with all of our hearts.