title="English
He Gives and Takes Away
Mark 8:27-38
About a year ago, I returned with my Dad to my boyhood home in Bluefield, WV for a visit. We drove by my high school and the place where my Jr. High School had been torn down. As is usual, I engaged in all the reminiscing of what I’d done there as a kid. One man who came to mind was my ninth grade basketball coach, an ex-marine and an "unforgettable character". When I met him at the first basketball practice, he had just returned from Viet Nam and was probably in his mid-50s. I think his primary goal was to make sure this younger generation got into shape. So, after each rigorous basketball practice, he would call us together for what he would call "wind training." This involved wind sprints in the gym followed by running all over the school up and down stairs.
On the first day of practice, he promised he would always run ahead of us. He said he was doing this to show us that this training couldn't be so hard because he was an "old man". "Surely," he would say, "you teenagers in the prime of life couldn't be run into the ground by an old teacher, could you?" But yes, we could and we were. Following him was one of the toughest things physically I've ever had to do.
This little episode came to mind when I read the last part of Mark 8. In Mark’s account of Jesus' life, this was the time when Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem and began to walk down what has been called the Via Dolorosa, Jesus’ street of anguish, toward the death that he knew would await him there. Notice the little phrase “on the way” in v. 27. That phrase will be used 9 times in the next few chapters. Jesus was signaling that he was going to head relentlessly toward Jerusalem where he would not set up a political kingdom by force, but he would begin an eternal kingdom accomplished through his death and resurrection.
In vv. 34-35, this is what we read: Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
In our generation, in which people generally only talk about the health and wealth assured for all people of faith, these words of Jesus' may be troublesome. Jesus calls us to follow him and he tells what following him will cost. But he also tells us what we will find when we stay close to him.
I. What is Lost (8:34-35)
As we look at this text, we shouldn’t be able to miss the point that Jesus expected all of us who follow him to experience a thoroughgoing transformation in our lives. That’s why I called this series, Jesus Christ: Life-changer. The phrase that Jesus used when he called people to faith was quite simply, "Follow me." This particular call came just after Jesus said that the destination of his own journey would be death. We shouldn’t be surprised to discover that those closest to him were shocked by this. In my home, I’ve sometimes shouted out, “I’m headed out. Anyone want to go with me?” Almost always, the family has yelled back, “Maybe. Where are you going?” What would they say if I answered, “I’m going to be killed and if you go, the same might happen to you.” They might go because they love their Dad. But, they would think about it carefully. That’s for sure.
It's very important that we understand Jesus' words in v.34 properly. Look at them again: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Jesus calls all who will follow him – yes, all – to two things: selfdenial and crossbearing. What did he mean by this?
- Selfdenial – Notice that Jesus doesn’t tell us to deny things to ourselves – but to deny ourselves. The way the Apostle Paul put it in 2 Cor. 5 is this: “I no longer live for myself but for him who died and rose again.” Some people start saying they’re Christians hoping to get God to give us things we want. But, Jesus turns that self-focused thinking on end. He calls us to surrender what we want to seek whatever God wants. Jesus says that Christians have a complete reversal of the normal way people talk about how we can enjoy life, which is, “You’ve got to do things for yourself.” The one who denies self prays every day, “Not my will but yours be done.”
- Cross-bearing -- When I hear people use this phrase, I usually hear them talking about their arthritis or their mother in law or their irritating boss or something like that. “That’s the cross I just have to bear,” they say. Remember that Jesus spoke these words before he went to the cross so “take up your own cross” must have sounded strange to his disciples. Public executions were common in Jesus’ day. The most painful form of execution was crucifixion. A cross was reserved only for the most hated of criminals – those the government wanted to humiliate publicly. So, when Jesus said we must take up a cross, he was telling us that, if we follow him, we have to give up our pride and desire for prestige. David Garland writes, “”Unlike some contemporary peddlers of the gospel, Jesus does not offer his disciples varieties of self-fulfillment or intoxicating experiences... He offers a cross. He does not invite us to try the cross on for size to see if we like it… Disciples must do more than survey the wondrous cross, glory in the cross, and love the old rugged cross... We must follow Jesus and live the cross.”
So, what Jesus is demanding in his call to follow is a complete surrender of all we are to all he is. When any of us follow him, we must be open to anything and ready to go anywhere. All of us! We should not be surprised if we experience the same kind of persecution as he experienced.
Note this too: This self-denial and cross-bearing Jesus speaks of are not just metaphors. Look at v. 35: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it…” Jesus knew that the suffering he would endure would often be replicated in the experience of many who would follow him. And he knew that if the good news salvation through faith in him was to be passed on after his crucifixion, Jesus had to have disciples who would be ready for the possibility of the loss of anything – even our physical lives.
Be clear about this: Jesus insists that the call to follow he made is also for us today. Did you notice the universality of Jesus' words in vv. 34-38? The words that are repeated are -- whoever, whoever, anyone, anyone and anyone. No true followers are left out. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
As I read history and look around the world at the church in our day, I’m convinced that the nature of the challenges and difficulties of following Jesus have always differed -- but the reality of it hasn't. So, I must tell you this: If you want to be a follower of Jesus, you dare not minimize the cost that decision may bring with it. Anyone who tells you otherwise is leading you down the garden path; not the Via Dolorosa.
It's so important that we understand this. We talk and sing so easily about loving Jesus in church circles. What does that really mean to us? Does it just mean a warm fuzzy glow while we sing the same line of a chorus over and over again? Does it simply mean some overwhelming emotion as we listen to a powerful sermon on the radio or online? Listen to me and think clearly: What did loving Jesus mean to these disciples when Jesus called them to follow him as he turned his face toward his death in Jerusalem?
You know what it meant to them: It meant the potential loss of things that matter to many people in this world. It meant the potential loss of their wealth and the loss of their worldly security. For them, it meant the loss of their reputation in the Jewish community. For some of them, eventually it meant the loss of their very lives. Will you love Jesus like that?
Loving Jesus for many in communist countries in my lifetime has meant years of solitary confinement. Loving Jesus for those who choose to turn to Jesus from other religions has often meant being cut off from family and friends..
But the question Jesus forces us to ask is this, "What could it cost for me to follow Jesus?" Could truly following Jesus mean a loss of reputation for you? Would those colleagues or those old drinking buddies still speak well of you if it was clear to them that you were living for Christ? Could following Jesus mean a loss of relationships for you? If you were living consistently for Jesus in your school, would you be scoffed at by some of the people you want to be with? Could loving Jesus mean loss in the workplace? Would you lose the opportunity for a promotion because you're considered too religious – or could you lose income because you insist on being ethical and to pay just wages? Or could your love of Jesus cause a loss ofperceived pleasure? Are there certain places you wouldn't go to and events you wouldn’t attend because you are closely following Jesus? Most of us like to be a bit religious as long as there is little or no cost.
These are, however, the prctical questions that Jesus puts to us in a passage like this. Following Jesus is not safe for our comfort zones. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me."
In the early 1990s when I traveled to the Czech Republic after the fall of the Soviet Union., I met with the head of the Czech Brethren Church, the Cirkev Bratrska, a man named Pavel Cerny. He told me that he and his church people had often been imprisoned for their faith in the midst of communism. He said, “We have had no Christian schools in our country. But we had schools that taught us faith in God. The prisons were our schools. We learned how to trust God there… We followed Jesus and discovered that he truly is near us even in the prisons. Our richest experiences of God were often gained in the midst of loss. We learned how to live for God in difficult times. You will have to teach us how to follow Jesus in good times.”
In the light of Jesus’ call to follow him anywhere, any rational person would have to ask, “Why would any of us commit ourselves to such a call?” There is much in terms of what most people in our world value that might be lost if you become a fully committed Jesus-follower. Jesus never pretended otherwise. But there is much to gain. Indeed, Jesus says we gain everything that really matters. Specifically, Jesus speaks about three things to gain:
II.What is to be gained (8:35-38)
In these four remarkable verses, Jesus speaks of the three great gains that people who have come to Jesus and stuck with their faith have always discovered. Yes, we live counter-cultural lives – and sometimes face huge challenges in this world. Ask if they are true of you:
1.We discover who must be at the center of our lives.Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it (v. 35).
This is a paradox, of course. And yet, isn't it true? Life isn't worth living unless you have something worth living for. And, ironically, you can't be sure you've found something worth living for, until you have something worth dying for. And Jesus is Someone worth living and dying for. What Jesus is saying is that when we surrender our lives to him, we find what we’ve always sensed as human beings, i.e., we were made for him. We have been made to live in relationship to God. When God is our God, then the rest of life begins to come into place.
The word that Jesus uses for “”life” here is “psyche” – the word we get psychology from. It has to do with our inner being or our soul. If we put any temporary thing at the center of our souls, they will let us down. They will not last. If we seek to hold onto temporary things, they will pass away. I tell you that what you will find that in the very act of giving your whole life to Jesus is that you have not lost your life at all. To the contrary, every believer I have ever met gives testimony to the fact that when we follow Jesus and seek to serve him, we find what life is really all about.
2. We discover who we are.What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul (vv.36-37)?
Do you really believe Jesus’ words here? So many people feel that if they could only win the lotterie, then they would find their lives. Or, if only my team could win the national championship, then I would find a life. Still, Jesus’ logic, unpopular as it may be in a consumerist world like ours, is true. People whose only interest is in the enjoyment of things in this world end up empty people, superficial people. You know that. We have countless stories of this here in Southern California. People finish up rootless, isolated, alienated because they've think their identity has to be, “The biggest partier – the most successful business person – the one who always looks young…”. Like Dr. Faustus in Goethe’s play, we are all so tempted to sell our souls for something that cannot last. When we do, as Jesus puts it here, we forfeit our very selves.
When we follow Jesus as the Lord of our lives – seeking to represent him well in the world, being willing to sacrifice for others as he did -- we discover what it really means to be a person in God's universe. We gain a new identity. Who are you? When you trust Jesus, you become a child of God. You become one who knows you are made in God's image. You will always know that you are eternally loved by an eternal God.
3.We discover where we’re going. If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, (I) will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (v.38).
To comprehend these words, remember that Jesus is calling us to follow him. He’s saying that when we follow him, we will always be close to him – and that means eternally. We will not be ashamed of him when we keep our eyes on him and follow. Jesus promises that we who follow him will be with him forever. That’s what’s going on here. Jesus is promising that those who walk close to him and do not deny him will have an eternal destiny with him. Note this: Yes, Jesus calls us to follow him in taking up a cross but, each time he calls us to that, he tells us the cross will not be the eend. He will defeat death. That is our hope.
Occasionally, I have heard people say that there is something wrong with making promises of future rewards for those who follow Jesus. Do you feel like that? I will say this: Faith in Jesus shouldn't be thought of as some bargain agreed upon because of the expected profit margin. What Jesus calls for is an unconditional surrender to his lordship. But, he does promise that the life we gain will be eternal life.
Let me just ask you this: What possible incentive is there to deny self and experience suffering for our faith if our lives are going to end in the grave and if our world someday will just end in cosmic dust? Jesus says there is a life beyond this life – a world in which we will see the justice and goodness of God. It will be a world in which we will see that he makes everything right. Evil will be punished and faith will be rewarded. We will understand why evil people sometimes seemed to have flourished and why children sometimes have died in infancy. God’s Word declares that God will ultimately punish evil and vindicate goodness. That truth is absolutely vital to the message that God is just. He will make all things right.
If there were no reward to be gained, then the cross of Jesus would make no sense, would it? The whole point of Jesus’ suffering is that, by means of it, he opened the door to eternal life with God for us. We join Jesus in declaring that everyone can find everlasting life through him who loves us so much.
Jesus tells us quite plainly that upon our opinion of him rests his opinion of us and upon His opinion of us rests our eternal destiny. See v.38 again.
Who knows? The day of Jesus coming in glory may be nearer than we think. Perhaps there are some here among us who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God. Is that thought important to you? You have your eternal life at stake in how you respond to Jesus. You have a soul to gain or lose. You have an eternal destiny to gain or lose. No matter what advantage anyone may think there is in remaining an unbeliever, Jesus insists that at the end of the day you will know you've paid too much and gained nothing that lasts if you reject him. For what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and lose himself.
One of my favorite parts of Shakespeare is a scene in the Merchant of Venice where Portia interrogates her would be suitors. Three caskets are offered to them and the one who chooses the casket containing Portia's portrait would be able to have her hand in marriage. The first suitor chooses the silver casket bearing the inscription, "He who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves." There was a fool's head inside that one. The next suitor chose the golden casket with the inscription, "He who chooseth me shall get what many men desire." There was a skull inside that one. Only good old Bassanio, the successful suitor, chose the right casket, the lead one inscribed with the words, "He who chooseth me must give and hazard all he has."
That's Jesus' invitation to us today. "If anyone will follow me, he must deny himself and take up his cross" -- we must give and hazard all we are and have.
Does it sound like a gamble? Jesus would say instead that it is a cost. How much is it worth to follow a person who suffered and died out of love for you – but also defeated sin and death through a resurrection. If you follow him, you may face times of suffering – but you will also experience resurrection.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he can never lose." (Jim Elliot)
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
title="Chinese
神的賞賜與收取
馬克福音8:27-38
大約一年前,我和父親回到在西佛吉尼亞Bluefield的少年時代的家。我開車經過我高中時的學校,那個學校如今已經被拆除了。像往常一樣,我會回憶起孩童時期的一些事。有一個人會閃現在我的腦海中,就是9年級的籃球教練,他以前參加過海軍陸戰隊,是個令人難忘的人。當我在第一次籃球訓練課上遇到他的時候,他剛剛從越南返回,大約50多歲。我想他的首要目標是塑造年輕的一代。因此,每次嚴格的籃球訓練之後,他就把我們叫到一起,進行所謂的“風訓”,不僅要在體育館裡進行全速跑,還要跑遍學校的全部樓梯。
在第一天的訓練課上,他承諾他會一直跑在最前面。他說這樣做是為了讓我們知道這種訓練並不那麼難,因為像他這樣的“老人家”也能做到。他說:“像你們這樣精力充沛的年輕人,當然不會被一個老教師累趴下。”但是,我們的確被累趴下了。跟著他跑,是我體力上所經歷的最難的事情之一。
當我在讀馬可福音第8章時,這個小小的片段閃現在我的腦海。在馬可對耶穌生平的記錄中,這個時候耶穌定意朝向耶路撒冷,開始走上“十架苦路”。耶穌的苦路是朝向死亡的,並且祂知道死亡在前面等著祂。請注意27節的短語“在路上”,這個短語在後面的章節中被提及9次。耶穌在暗示,祂將義無反顧地走向耶路撒冷,在那裡祂不是要用武力建立一個政治王國,而是以祂的死和復活來完成天國的大業。
在34-35節,我們會讀到:“於是叫眾人和門徒來,對他們說:‘若有人要跟從我,就當舍己,背起他的十字架來跟從我。 因為,凡要救自己生命的,必喪掉生命;凡為我和福音喪掉生命的,必救了生命。’”
在我們這一代,人們通常只是談論健康和財富——這些對有信仰的人來說是實實在在的,而耶穌的話也許會令人厭煩。耶穌呼召我們跟隨祂,祂告訴我們跟隨祂的代價。但是,祂也告訴我們,當我們和祂在一起時能得到什麼。
I. 會失去什麼 (8:34-35)
當我們看這段經文時,我們應該看到,耶穌希望我們每一個人都能在生命中經歷徹底的轉變。因此,我把這個系列稱為:耶穌——改變生命的人。當耶穌呼召人信祂的時候,祂只用了一個很簡單的詞:“跟從我。”當耶穌宣稱祂旅途的終點是死亡之後,祂就使用這個特殊的召喚。我們會發現,耶穌身邊的人對此非常震驚。在我家裡,我有時會喊:“我要出去了,誰想和我一起去?”通常情況是,家人會問:“你要去哪裡?”如果我說:“我要去被殺,如果你們和我一起去,你們也可能會被殺。”假如我這樣說,你想會發生什麼?他們可能會去,因為他們愛自己的爸爸。但是,他們會仔細想想,這是一定的。
正確地弄明白耶穌在34節的話是非常重要的。我們再來看看這節經文:若有人要跟從我,就當舍己,背起他的十字架來跟從我。這話是耶穌對所有跟從祂的人說的——是的,所有人——是針對兩件事:舍己和十字架受苦。這是什麼意思?
- 舍己——請注意耶穌沒有說拒絕一切發生在我們身上的事情——而是舍己。使徒保羅在哥林多後書第5章是這樣解釋的:“那些活著的人不再為自己活,乃為替他們死而復活的主活。”一些人會說,我們是基督徒,希望神把我們想要的給我們。但是,耶穌在不斷地改變這種以自我為中心的想法。祂讓我們放棄自己想要的,而去追求神想要的。人們通常會說,要享受生活,你要為自己去做事,而耶穌說基督徒應當從這條道路上轉離。舍己的人會每天禱告:“不是成就我的意願,而是你的意願。”
- 十架受苦——當我聽到人講這個詞的時候,通常是聽他們在談論他們的關節炎、婆婆、氣人的老闆,或其他類似的事情。他們說,“這就是我要忍受的十字架。”請記住,耶穌說這些話的時候,是在祂上十字架之前,因此,門徒對“背起你的十字架”還有點陌生。在耶穌的時代,公開處決是很普通的,而最痛苦的處決方式就是被釘十字架。十字架通常是留給惡極的罪犯——那些官方想要當眾羞辱的人。因此,當耶穌說我們必須背起十字架時,祂是在告訴我們,假如我們要跟隨祂,我們必須放棄自己的驕傲和對名譽的渴求。David Garland寫到:“不像當代某些兜售福音的人,耶穌沒有給祂的門徒提供各樣的滿足和令人興奮的經歷……祂給了一個十字架。祂不是邀請我們上到十字架上,看看我們是否喜歡它……門徒不只是瞻仰精彩的十字架、十字架上的榮耀以及愛這個古舊十架……我們必須跟隨耶穌,活出十字架的生命。”
所以,耶穌在祂的呼召中表明,追隨是徹底地放下我們的一切而轉向耶穌。當我們追隨祂,我們就必須向一切敞開,並隨時準備到任何地方去。這是指我們所有人!假如我們經歷與耶穌一樣的迫害,我們也不該感到奇怪。
也請注意這一點:耶穌所講的舍己和十架受苦,不只是個比喻。請看35節:“凡要救自己生命的,必喪掉生命……”耶穌知道,祂將要忍受的苦難會同樣出現在那些跟隨祂的人身上。耶穌知道,在祂上十字架後,如果信祂就能得救的好消息要傳遞下去,就需要有門徒捨棄自己的一切——甚至是肉體的生命。
要清楚一點:耶穌堅持認為,祂所做的呼召在今天同樣適合我們。你是否注意到,34-38節裡耶穌的話具有普遍性?重複的詞是:無論誰,無論誰,任何人,任何人,任何人。如果不是真的追隨者,就會被棄掉。“若任何人想要跟從我,就當舍己,天天背起他的十字架來追隨我。”
當我讀了歷史,並在教會裡環顧我們現今這個世界時,我確信,我們所面臨的挑戰的性質和追隨耶穌的困難是不同的——但本質卻是相同的。因此,我必須告訴你:如果你想要成為耶穌的追隨者,你不能減小由這一決定所產生的代價。假如任何人告訴你別的方法,那是把你引向花園小徑,而不是十架受苦之路。
明白這一點對我們是十分重要的。在教會圈子裡,我們會輕易地談論和歌唱要愛耶穌。這對我們有什麼真正的意義?當我們一遍又一遍地歌唱時,這只意味著一種溫暖而又模糊的感覺嗎?當我們在收音機或網路上聆聽一段有力的講章時,這只是一種情緒的起伏嗎?請聽我說並且思想:當耶穌轉向耶路撒冷受死之路並呼召門徒跟隨祂的時候,對於門徒而言,愛耶穌到底意味著什麼?
你知道這對他們意味著什麼:這意味著有可能失去在這個世界上的很多人看來很重要的東西。這意味著可能失去財富,可能失去物質的保障。對他們來說,這意味著失去他們在猶太群體的威望。對他們當中的某些人,意味著他們要失去生命。你是不是像這樣來愛耶穌?
在共產主義國家,對很多人而言,愛耶穌意味著多年的孤獨監禁。對那些從別的信仰轉向耶穌的人,愛耶穌則意味著被家人和朋友棄絕……
但是耶穌要求我們問這樣的問題,“跟隨耶穌要付怎樣的代價?”對你來說,跟隨耶穌是否意味著喪失名譽?如果你清楚地告訴你的同事和酒友你要為耶穌而活,他們是否會一直稱讚你?對你來說,追隨耶穌是否意味著喪失友誼?如果你在學校裡一直為耶穌而活,你是否會被那些你想要與他們成為朋友的人嘲笑?愛耶穌是否意味著喪失工作機會?你是否因為太虔誠而失去晉升的機會?——或者因為堅持倫理道德、要求得到合理的薪資而失去收入?或者你因為愛耶穌而喪失感官上的快樂?是否因為緊緊跟隨耶穌,你就不去某些特殊的場所、不參與某些特殊的事情?對我們中的多數人而言,如果代價很少或者沒有代價,我們就願意虔誠一點兒。
在這信息裡,耶穌給我們提出很現實的問題。跟隨耶穌對人的安逸是個挑戰。 “若有人要跟從我,就當捨己,背起他的十字架來跟從我。”
90年代初,蘇俄垮台後,我到過捷克斯洛伐克。我見到捷克斯洛伐克兄弟會the Cirkeve Bratrska 的帶領人Pavel Cerny。他告訴我他和教會的人在共產黨執政期間常常因為信仰被監禁。他說:“我們國家沒有基督教學校。但是我們有神教給信心功課的學校。監獄就是我們的學校。在那裡學習信靠神……人跟隨耶穌發現即使在監獄中祂真實地在我們身邊。人對神最豐富的經歷往往是在失去的時候,學習怎樣在艱難的時候為神而活。你要教我們怎樣在好日子的當中信靠神。
II. 得著什麼?(8:35-38)
在這不可思議的四節經文中,耶穌說到跟隨祂,並且堅守信心的人會發現有三個得著。我們的確生活在反文化的生活中—有時面對的是世界極大的挑戰。問問你自己這是不是真的:
1. 發現誰是生命的中心。凡要救自己生命的,必喪失生命;凡為我和福音喪掉生命的,必救了生命(35 節)。
當然這是一個弔詭。事實又何嘗不是。除非有什麼值得你去活的,要么生活就沒有什麼意義。諷刺的是,人常常是在可以為了什麼去死的時候,才找到值得活的東西。耶穌是值得為祂死為祂活的那一位。耶穌說的意義是當你生命向祂降服的時候,發現作為人類一直都揣摩著的的是我們的被造乃是為了祂。我們的被造是為著活在與神的關係中。當神做我們的神,生活中的其他才會步入正軌。
耶穌用來形容生命的字是“靈魂( psyche)”心理學就源於這個字。與我們內在個人和靈魂相關。人將短暫的東西放在靈魂的首位,這些東西一定讓我們失望,不會長久。人若要想緊抓短暫的東西,這些東西就會長羽翼飛去。要知道將你的生活全部獻給耶穌之時就會發現你不但沒有失去生活,相反的,我所遇見的人見證他們跟隨耶穌專心事奉祂時,都發現生命真正的意義。
2. 發現自己是誰。人就是賺得全世界,賠上自己的生命,有什麼益處呢?人還能用什麼換生命呢(36-37節)?
你真的相信耶穌這話嗎?多少的人覺得只要他們贏了樂透獎,就什麼都有了。或者盼望球隊贏得國家獎杯,就找到生命的意義。事實上,你心裡明白耶穌的邏輯在我們今日的消費主義世界並不時興。在南加州有無數的例子。以為極盡宴樂,商場成功成名,永遠年輕貌美等等。 。 。卻到了無根,孤獨與隔絕的份上。如同歌德劇上的浮士德博士一樣 , 人蠢蠢欲試出賣靈魂給短暫的事物。用耶穌話就叫做散失生命。
我們跟隨耶穌作為生命的主—尋求在世界上彰顯祂,像祂那樣願意為他人犧牲自己,發現在神創造的宇宙中自己成為何等樣的一個人。我們開始有了一個新的身份。你是誰?當你信靠耶穌時,你成為神的兒女。成為一個明白自己是按照神的形像被造的一個人。你永遠都知道一位永恆的神愛你到永恆。
3. 發現自己往哪裡去。凡在這淫亂罪惡的世代,把我和我的道當作可恥的,人子在祂父的榮耀裡,同聖天使降臨的時候,也要把那人當作可恥的。(馬可福音8:38)
為了理解這段話,必須記住耶穌正在呼召我們跟隨祂。祂說當我們跟隨祂時,我們就將永遠親近祂—這是永恆的。我們定睛於祂並跟隨祂時,絕不會感到羞恥。耶穌說凡跟隨祂的,將永遠與祂同在。這是這句經文的意思。耶穌說凡是不否認祂、並親近祂的將在永恆生命中與神同在。請注意:耶穌的確呼召我們背起十字架跟隨祂,但是每當祂如此呼召,祂總是告訴我們十字架並非終點。祂將戰勝死亡,這正是我們的希望所在。
我有時聽到人說,對那些跟隨耶穌的人許諾未來獎賞有點不靠譜。你是否也這麼認為?我要這麼說:對耶穌的信心不能等同於為自己未來利益的討價還價。耶穌呼召我們,要求我們無條件地降服於祂的權柄。但是,祂的確應允我們得到的生命將是永生。
讓我這麼問你:如果我們的生命即將面臨死亡的墳墓、如果我們的世界即將終結於宇宙塵埃,我們為信心捨己並經受痛苦的動機是什麼?耶穌說在我們今世生命以外還有一個生命——在那個世界,我們將看見神的美好與公正,祂將撥亂反正所有的錯誤,惡將受到懲處、信心將得到獎賞。那時我們就會明白為什麼有時惡人興旺發達,為什麼有時孩子死於幼年。神的話宣告說:惡最終將受到懲罰而美善將得到秉護。對於神是公義的信息,以上真理絕對是重要的。祂將改正所有的錯誤。
如果沒有獎賞的話,耶穌的十字架將沒有任何意義。是不是?耶穌遭受所有這一切的目的在於:通過祂受的苦難,為我們打開一扇門,一扇通往永生、通往與神同在的大門。我們與耶穌一同宣告:通過這位深愛著我們的耶穌,每一個人都能得到永生。
耶穌明明白白地告訴我們:我們怎樣看祂取決于祂怎樣看我們——而祂怎樣看我們決定我們永恆的命運。(請再讀第38節)。
有誰知道?耶穌榮耀再來的日子也許比我們想像的更近。也許我們當中某些人不必嚐到死味就能親眼看見神的國度。這個想法對你是否重要?你的永生就取決於你對耶穌的回應。你要麼得著自己的靈魂要麼失去它。你要麼得著永恆的命運要麼失去它。如果堅持不信的話,所有可以想像的好處都與你無緣。耶穌一再強調:如果你拒絕祂,到世界末日你就會明白,你付出一切卻一無所得。 “人就是賺得全世界,賠上自己的生命,有什麼益處呢?”
我最愛莎士比亞的《威尼斯商人》中一個片段:波西亞考察追求者她的人。他們必須從三個首飾盒選擇其一。如果所選擇的首飾盒中有波西亞的畫像,這人就能在未來的婚姻中執她的手。第一個追求者選擇了一個銀盒,上面寫著:“選擇我的人將得到他配得的一切”。打開盒子,裡面是一個愚人頭像。第二個追求者選擇了一個金盒子,上面寫著:“選擇我的人將得到許多人的夢想”。其實裡面裝著一具骷髏。只有老好人巴薩尼奧,這個勝利的追求者做了正確的選擇。他的盒子上寫著:“選擇我的人必須冒險失去他所有的一切”。
這正是今天耶穌對我們的邀請。 “若有人要跟從我,就當捨己,背起他的十字架來跟從我”—我們必須捨棄自己,獻上我們、及我們擁有的一切。
這聽起來是否像賭博?耶穌說這是代價。跟隨一個因為愛我們而受罪至死的人,而祂又通過復活戰勝了罪及死亡——¬這代價太值得了!如果你跟隨祂,你也許會多次面對苦難—但你也一定會經歷復活。
如果一個人奉獻自己不能不能久留的東西去獲得他永不失去的東西,這人一定不傻。 (JimElliot)
祂的荣耀,
格雷格Waybright博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2013, Lake Avenue Church