經文: 「豈不知你們的身子就是聖靈的殿嗎？這聖靈是從上帝而來，住在你們裡頭的；並且你們不是自己的人；」— (聖經·哥林多前書 6章19節)
當福音真光照到人心，他會覺得自己心土很硬，無法接受真理；或者理性太強，無法相信真理。人性天然的肉體會產生抗拒，不願意降服或死掉，以致天人交戰，成為一種精神上的掙扎與折磨。
人除非被逼到一個地步，知道在人裡面毫無良善可言，而且毫無行善的能力，才會悔改轉向上帝並離棄罪惡。只有在自己走投無路時，對自己完全絕望時，人才會想到倚靠上帝，也就會因著真心尋求上帝，信心與希望才會產生。是的，人若不棄絕自己到一個地步，對自己完全絕望，就無法擁有新生命所帶來的信心與希望。 一個人無論他如何差勁，必須覺得上帝的愛摸得到他，他才能得救。上帝創造人，就是為祂自己設立一個居所，讓祂的聖靈能有駐留的地方。面對那些作惡多端，或是自暴自棄的人，愛是惟一的妙方；藉著重重愛網，網住他的心，讓他不得不感受到上帝的愛是何等偉大，叫人難以抗拒。
「上帝是什麼？祂的名字叫愛，祂是全然美善，樂意賜人平安喜樂及無限的福份。基督是什麼？祂是整個大自然以及受罪惡污染人類的救星；祂有無限的憐憫與恩慈，源源不絕地供應軟弱人一切的需要。」
讓我們用愛網重重網住人的心，讓他們志願成為愛的俘擄；所有好宗教的宗旨都是愛，若沒有愛，一切都是空談，都是鏡花水月沒有生命。愛是人類靈魂之光，這道理是顛撲不破的。
愛就是上帝的化身，是復活的生命，是極度的謙卑，是無限的忍耐與恩慈。讓我們誠心相信「上帝就是愛」的真理，並且渴望每個人都認識這個愛的源頭；如同陽光普照大地，甘霖滋潤萬物，若我們願意花時間等候在上帝面前，給上帝機會做工，上帝自然會將那說不出來的恩典與喜樂，滿足我們的心，飽足我們的愛，我們也甘心樂意地倒空自己，將自己完全獻給愛我們的上帝。
—《 神 的 心 意 》
(每日靈修 8月30日)
作者：慕安德烈
編輯：榮華興
『 Of the despair of self 』
Scripture: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” — (Corinthians 6:19)
“When the truth touches a man’s heart, he feels that he can not overcome the hardness of his heart and his pride by the force of his reason. Nature becomes a torment and a burden to itself before it can willingly give up to that death through which alone it can pass into life. There is no true and real conversion from the life of sin and death, till a man comes to know and feel that nothing less than his whole nature is to be parted with, and yet finds in himself no possibility of doing it. This is the despair by which we lose all our own life, to find a new one in God. For here it is that faith and hope, and true seeking to God and Christ are born. But till all is despair in ourselves, faith and hope and turning to God in prayer are only things practised by rule and method; they are not born in us, are not living qualities of a new birth, till we have done feeling any trust or confidence in ourselves.
“A man must feel that he is still within the reach of Divine Love; God created him for Himself to be a habitation of His own life and Holy Spirit. In dealing with such souls, love must be our bait; it will put its hook into the heart, and force men to know, that of all strong things nothing is so strong, so irresistible, as Divine Love.
“Ask what God is; His Name is Love; He is the Good, the Perfection of Peace, the Joy, the Glory and the Blessing of every life. Ask what Christ is. He is the universal Remedy of all evil broken forth ia nature and creatures. He is the unwearied Compassion, the long-suffering Pity, the never-ceasing Mercifulness of God to every want and infirmity of human nature.
“Let us surround and encompass men with these frames of love until they become a willing victim to their power. All religion is the Spirit of Love, all its gifts and graces are love; it has no breath, no life, but the life of love. Love is heaven revealed in the soul; it is light and truth, it is infallible. Love is the Christ of God; it is the resurrection and life of every Divine virtue, a fruitful mother of true humility, boundless benevolence, unwearied patience, and bowels of compassion.”
Let us seek above everything to believe that God is love, and as such, longs intensely to fill every heart with its blessedness. As the sun shines upon the earth with the one great object of shedding on it its light and its life, do let us believe that the great God of love is shining upon us every moment of the day. If we will but give Him time and patient waiting, that love will enter our hearts with all its gifts and graces and its unspeakable blessedness. That will make us willing to part utterly with self, and to yield ourselves a continual sacrifice to the God who loves us.
— God’s Best Secrets by Andrew Murray
「 30 August 」
