10月23日 一點也不

 “若有人在基督裡，他就是新造的人，舊事已過，都變成新的了。”（林後5:17）

我們的主從不看護我們的成見，他只克服它們，清理它們。我們想像神對我們的特別成見有著特別的興趣；我們很肯定神不會像對付其他人那樣對付我們。“神一定會非常嚴厲的對付其他人，他當然知道我的成見是對的。”可是我們必須認識到神不但不站在我們的成見這邊，反而有意地要將它們清掃出去。我們所受的道德教育的一部分是，讓神的旨意除去我們的成見，並看看他怎麼做。神毫不在意我們帶給他什麼。神只想要我們做一件事，就是無條件的降服。

當我們重生的時候，聖靈開始將他的新創造做在我們裡面，必有一天舊秩序所遺留的會蕩然無存，離開舊的儀式，離開舊的態度，“所有的都是屬神的。”我們如何得到那沒有情欲、沒有自我利益、對別人的刺痛不敏感、有不輕易發怒的愛、不思想罪惡、常待人有恩慈的生命呢？唯一的辦法是不讓一點點舊生命留下來，而只單單完全地信靠神，以致我們不再想要神的祝福，只想要他自己。我們是否到達一個地步，神可以撤回他的祝福而不會影響我們對他的信靠？當一旦我們看到神在做工，我們就不會為所發生的事煩擾，因為我們正實際的信靠我們在天上的父，他是這世界無法看到的。

October 23 Not A Bit Of It!

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Our Lord never nurses our prejudices, He mortifies them, runs clean athwart them. We imagine that God has a special interest in our particular prejudices; we are quite sure that God will never deal with us as He has to deal with other people. “God must deal with other people in a very stern way, but of course He knows that my prejudices are all right.” We have to learn – “Not a bit of it!” Instead of God being on the side of our prejudices, He is deliberately wiping them out. It is part of our moral education to have our prejudices run straight across by His providence, and to watch how He does it. God pays no respect to anything we bring to Him. There is only one thing God wants of us, and that is our unconditional surrender.

When we are born again, the Holy Spirit begins to work His new creation in us, and there will come a time when there is not a bit of the old order left, the old solemnity goes, the old attitude to things goes, and “all things are of God.” How are we going to get the life that has no lust, no self-interest, no sensitiveness to pokes, the love that is not provoked, that thinketh no evil, that is always kind? The only way is by allowing not a bit of the old life to be left; but only simple perfect trust in God, such trust that we no longer want God's blessings, but only want Himself. Have we come to the place where God can withdraw His blessings and it does not affect our trust in Him? When once we see God at work, we will never bother our heads about things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in Heaven Whom the world cannot see.