經文：「其中最大的是愛。」— (聖經·哥林多前書 13章13b節)
南非波爾戰爭發生之際，全國各地兵荒馬亂、人心惶惶，一位傳道人問教會的主任牧師要如何安撫人心？豈料這位牧師回答：「我自己也是心慌意亂和自身難保，又怎能安撫別人呢？」若需要熱切傳揚愛的訊息，一定有不少牧師這樣說：「我自己都缺乏愛，我怎能教導別人有愛？」
但這兒有一解決之道，讓我與你分享我從約翰衛斯理那兒學得的經驗，在他傳道的前十四年，他不完全明白因信稱義的救贖真理，藉著與屬靈的長輩馬利安的一番談話，他向上帝承認自己的無知與小信，從此他傳道極有能力，帶領多人歸主。但他還是覺得自己太過理性，並未經歷到像馬利安弟兄那樣多的喜樂與愛心，所以他就請教馬利安要如何獲得那樣的喜樂與愛心，馬利安說：「向人傳講這信息，因為你相信這是上帝所教導的，在與人分享的當中，你就找到你尋求的愛，於是你就越發熱心去傳講『愛』的信息，因你已擁有並經歷了這愛。」
教學相長是我實際的經歷，我在寫作及講道的時候，常常自己問自己：你經歷過你所傳講的信息嗎？你真的相信你所說的嗎？這時我就會照著長輩給我的建言：傳揚它，因你相信你在教導上帝的話，且衷心渴望擁有它。以信心傳揚真理，經驗與感覺就會隨之而來；所以那些有負擔傳揚愛的信息的傳道者，切莫遲疑去傳，因為在你向他人傳揚的同時，你將經歷到你所與人分享的信息。
—《 神 的 心 意 》
(每日靈修 9月17日)
作者：慕安德烈
編輯：榮華興
(圖片版權屬「基督教論壇報」所有，在此僅供分享福音用途。)
『 The Preaching of Love 』
Scripture: “The greatest of these is Love.” — (1 Corinthians 13:13b)
During the Boer War, when there was much unrest in the country, a certain minister asked his brother-minister, who was a leader in the church, to do his best to calm the minds of those around him. His answer was: “I have enough trouble with myself; my own mind is unsettled. How can I quiet others?” If there were a revival of the preaching of love, more than one of our ministers would have to say: “There is such a lack of love in my own heart; how can I teach others?”
Yet there is a remedy. Let me tell you what I have learned from John Wesley. During the first fourteen years of his ministry he had no insight into what a free and full salvation by faith meant. After he had been convicted of the sin of unbelief, by means of a conversation with one of the Moravian Brethren, he began to preach with such power that many were converted. But he felt that it was too much a matter of the intellect; he had not yet experienced the full joy and love which the Moravian possessed. He asked the Brother what he should do. The answer was: “Preach it because you believe that it is what God’s Word teaches: you will soon find what you are seeking, and will then preach it because you possess it.”
This has been my own experience. Often in preaching, or in writing, I have asked myself: But do you possess what you preach to others? And I have followed the advice: Preach it, because you believe it to be the teaching of God’s Word, and heartily desire it. Preach the truth by faith, and the experience will follow. Let the minister who feels impelled to preach about love, not hesitate to do so, and he will soon be able to preach it because he has himself received that which he commends.
— God’s Best Secrets by Andrew Murray
「 17 September 」
