他说，主啊，你是谁？（徒九5）
救赎的奇迹，使大数的扫罗由一个认真、意志坚强的法利赛人，一刻之间变成主耶稣谦卑的忠仆。可以解释的事根本就无奇妙可言。可以解释的事便能控制，所以我们要求解释是极自然的。顺服并非自然的事；不顺服也并不一定有罪。除非我承认有一更高的权威指挥一切，否则顺服不算甚么德行。对别人而言，不顺服可能是一种解放。一个人若对另一个人说：[你一定要这样。]他就伤害了那人的灵，这样的灵并不合神用。
顺服的背后必须承认有一位圣洁的神，否则，只沦为顺服的奴隶。许多人要摆脱宗教的外壳，才能真正来到神面前。因为心里只有一位主人，这不是宗教，而是耶穌基督。倘若我见他，却对他说：[我不肯。]我就有祸了。他不会强求，但我已在心里神儿子的死亡证上签了字。我面对主耶穌，却对他说：[我不愿意。]他断不会坚持，但这样我就从救恩的再造大能中退后了。我若肯来就光，不管我怎样可恶，神的恩典总不会计较；我若不肯来到光中，就有祸了（参约三19-21）。
祈祷◆[看啊！这些不过是他的道路显而易见的部分，至於他能力的响声谁能明白呢？]那许多无根的思绪在我的脑海中浮过，除非我的黑暗蒙你光照，否则对於属你的东西，我全无智慧和知识。
July 18: The Mystery of Believing
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. —Acts 9:5
Saul of Tarsus was transformed in an instant from a strong-willed, intense Pharisee into a humble, devoted slave of the Lord. How was such a change possible? Only by the miracle of the redemption.
There’s nothing miraculous about the things we can explain. We command what we are able to explain; consequently, it’s natural for us to seek to explain. What Saul experienced on the road to Damascus had no logical explanation, and neither did the choice he made afterward: to live in total obedience to Jesus Christ.
Obedience isn’t natural, nor is disobedience necessarily sinful. There’s no moral virtue in obedience unless a higher authority belongs to the one who commands. Sometimes, refusing to obey is an act of self-liberation. If one person says to another, “You must” or “You will,” it breaks the human spirit and its loyalty to God. A person is a slave for obeying unless behind the obedience lies a recognition of a holy God. Too often religion loses sight of God and becomes all about obeying rules. Many souls begin to come to God when they stop being religious, because the human heart only has one master, and that isn’t religion but Jesus Christ.
When Jesus Christ appears to me, I’m in danger if I say, “I won’t.” Jesus will never insist on my obedience, but if I refuse to obey, I’ve begun to sign the death warrant of the Son of God in my soul. When I stand face-to-face with Jesus Christ and say, “I won’t,” I’m backing away from the re-creating power of his redemption. If I come to the light, it’s a matter of indifference to God’s grace how abominable I am. But if I refuse the light, woe to me. “Everyone who does evil hates the light. . . . But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” (John 3:20–21).