不要害怕，做好準備Ready and Not Afraid
作者: Burk Parsons
譯者: Maria Marta
每當有人問我是做什麽工作的，我都會告訴他們我是一個牧師。當我告訴他們我是牧師時，他們似乎立刻表現出豐富的情感，因為他們試圖決定如何回應。他們的回應各有不同，從恐懼到安慰，從焦慮到歡樂，全取決於他們的屬靈狀態以及他們與基督和教會的關系。有些人試圖盡可能快束改變這個話題，有些人想告訴我關於他們屬靈旅程的一切事，有些人想卸下所有的負擔，有些人談論他們為何離開教會？另一些人則因我們信靠基督的共同信仰而歡喜。但在更多的情況下，當我告訴人們我是牧師時，他們有許多問題-------關於我們的教會、我信什麽、聖經、上帝、人死後等等問題。所有人都有問題。我們本性上是好奇的。在這個多元主義、無神論、懷疑論充斥的時代，許多人都在尋找真理，和人生終極問題的答案。
在某些方面，牧師比其他基督徒有更多的機會宣講、解釋福音，以及做傳福音者、護教者的工作。這是牧師的喜樂之一。就我們所做之工作的本質而言，牧師既是神學家又是護教者。事實上，每一個基督徒都是神學家與護教者。對我們所有人來說，問題在於我們是否是出色的神學家和護教者，和我們是否是嚴肅的學生，認真研讀聖經、神學，和來自聖經的答案。每一個基督徒都被吩咐要常常作好準備，去回答那些問你們為甚麼懷有盼望的人，如彼得命令我們那樣，並且我們決不能忘記我們一定要用「溫柔敬畏」的心作回答（彼前三15）。
當我們在觀看我們的世界的面前做善事 -----不是為了自己得榮耀而讓人看到，而是為了讓世界看到我們的好行為而歸榮耀於我們在天上的父----- 人們自然會問我們為何做我們所做的；為何相信我們所相信的；為何我們懷有盼望。當他們這樣問的時候，我們不必害怕，因為基督已應許聖靈與我們同在，祂會賜給我們勇氣和同情心，使我們在愛中說真理。因為這是我們在世界的黑暗中發光的主要方式之一，並且我們知道，只有聖靈打開人的眼睛，驅逐黑暗，重生他們，人才能看見光，並活在耶穌基督的榮耀之光中。
Ready and Not Afraid
FROM
Burk Parsons
Whenever
people ask me what I do for a living, I respond by telling them I am a pastor.
When I tell them I am a pastor, people appear to be instantly filled with a
range of emotions as they try to figure out how to respond. Depending on their
spiritual state and their relationship to Christ and the church, their
responses range from fear to comfort, from anxiety to delight. Some people
attempt to change the subject as quickly as possible, some want to tell me all
about their spiritual journey, some want to unload all their burdens, some talk
about why they leftˆ
the church, and others rejoice in our common faith in Christ. But more oftˆen than not, when I
tell people I’m
a pastor, they have questions–questions about our church, about what I
believe, about the Bible, God, and the aftˆerlife. All people
have questions. We are inquisitive by nature. And in this age of pluralism,
atheism, and skepticism, many people are searching for truth and the answers to
life’s
ultimate questions.
In
some ways, pastors have more opportunities than other Christians to proclaim
and explain the gospel and do the work of an evangelist and apologist. It is
one of the joys of being a pastor. By the very nature of what we do, pastors
are theologians and apologists. But in truth, every Christian is a theologian
and an apologist. The question for all of us is whether we are good theologians
and apologists and whether we are serious students of Scripture and the
theology and answers that come from Scripture. Every Christian is called to be
ready to give an answer for the hope that’s within us, as Peter commands us,
and never to forget that we are to give our answers with “gentleness and
respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
As we
do our good works before the watching world—not to be seen by men in order to
get glory for ourselves, but so that the world might see our good works and
glorify our Father in heaven—people will naturally ask us why we do all that we
do, why we believe what we believe, and why we hold to the hope that is within
us. And when they do, we must not be afraid, for Christ has promised that the
Holy Spirit is with us to give us the courage and compassion to speak the truth
in love. For this is one of the chief ways we shine as lights in the darkness of
the world, knowing that people can only see the light if the Holy Spirit opens
their eyes, expels the darkness, regenerates their hearts, and makes them alive
to the light of the glory of Jesus Christ.
This
post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.