3月1日 毫不放鬆的問話

你愛我嗎？（約二十一17）

彼得這時不再宣告什麼了（參太二十六33-35）。人天然的性情總喜歡揚聲宣告；但當耶穌基督的問話一針見血時，才顯露那人愛的品質。彼得對耶穌的愛，是人本性中愛一個好人的那種愛。那是屬性情裡的愛，這也許會深入人的個性裡，但並不觸及人的內裡。真愛是從不宣告什麼。耶穌說：“凡在人面前認我的。”承認他的愛不單憑口裡所說的話，也憑所行的一切。

除非主的話刺破我們的假面具，否則神的話根本進不到我們裡面。神的話刺傷比罪的刺傷更厲害，因為罪使感覺遲鈍。但主的話卻加強我們的感覺，以致他的刺傷比任何我們所能意想到的刺傷更痛。這痛不單是一般性的，而是更深入的，對準人內心的。主的話刺透我們，將靈與魂分開，再無虛假可以存留。對主的問話，我們不能用感情來敷衍。主直接對你說話時，你不能只說好話，那痛太厲害了。刺痛使任何事物都不再算一回事了。主的話在他兒女身上的刺痛，是不會有錯的；刺痛的地方，正是啟示的重要開端。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你在今早驅散一切雲霧，願晴朗、猛烈和滿有生氣的陽光普照大地。

March 1 The Undeviating Question

“Lovest thou Me?” John 21:17

Peter declares nothing now （cf. Matthew 26:33-35）. Natural individuality professes and declares; the love of the personality is only discovered by the hurt of the question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way in which any natural man loves a good man. That is temperamental love; it may go deep into the individuality, but it does not touch the centre of the person. True love never professes anything. Jesus said – “Whosoever shall confess Me before men,” i.e., confess his love not merely by his words, but by everything he does.

Unless we get hurt right out of every deception about ourselves, the word of God is not having its way with us. The word of God hurts as no sin can ever hurt, because sin blunts feeling. The question of the Lord intensifies feeling, until to be hurt by Jesus is the most exquisite hurt conceivable. It hurts not only in the natural way but in the profound personal way. The word of the Lord pierces even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, there is no deception left. There is no possibility of being sentimental with the Lord's question; you cannot say nice things when the Lord speaks directly to you, the hurt is too terrific. It is such a hurt that it stings every other concern out of account. There never can be any mistake about the hurt of the Lord's word when it comes to His child; but the point of the hurt is the great point of revelation.