耶稣带着彼得、雅各、约翰暗暗地上了高山……(可九2)
我们都有过山上的经历--从神的观点看事物,于是就想留在那里不再下来。可是,神绝不容许我们留在那里。属灵生命的考验,是看你下降的能力。若我们只有能力上山,那就有点不对劲了。在山上与神同在是好极了,但上山的目的,是叫人以后下来到被魔鬼辖制的人中间,把他们扶起来。我们不是为山峰、晨曦、美景而造,那些只是为了灵感时刻,仅此而已。我们乃是为山谷而造,为我们所处的日常平凡事而造,在这些事上证明我们的品格。属灵的自私总是盼望可以重演山上的经历,以为我们只要留在山上,就可以说话生活如天使一般。其实,高峰的生活是例外的,在与神的相交中有它的作用;但必须当心,别让属灵的自私把高山的经历视作唯一去追求的东西。
我们常以为凡事都是为教导我们,但其实比教导更好的,就是使凡遭遇的变成我们的品格。山顶的经历不是要教导我们什么,乃是要塑造我们。“这事有什么用处?”这样问有很大的危险。属灵的事不是这样计算的。山顶上的经历是罕有的,是神为特别的目的而设的。
祈祷◆主啊,我最渴望的,是在你里面生根建造--以神为中心,专注于神,热心于神和爱神。我的灵魂何等渴望认识你,并且得着平静。
October 1: The Sphere Of Exaltation
“Jesus leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves.” Mark 9:2
We have all had times on the mount, when we have seen things from God’s standpoint and have wanted to stay there; but God will never allow us to stay there. The test of our spiritual life is the power to descend; if we have power to rise only, something is wrong. It is a great thing to be on the mount with God, but a man only gets there in order that afterwards he may get down among the devil-possessed and lift them up. We are not built for the mountains and the dawns and aesthetic affinities, those are for moments of inspiration, that is all. We are built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff we are in, and that is where we have to prove our mettle. Spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mount. We feel we could talk like angels and live like angels, if only we could stay on the mount. The times of exaltation are exceptional, they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware lest our spiritual selfishness wants to make them the only time.
We are apt to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching, it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz., into character. The mount is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a great snare in asking – What is the use of it? In spiritual matters we can never calculate on that line. The moments on the mountain tops are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose.