[每日靈修] 10/24/2018, 駱鴻銘編譯
人耳是一個奇怪的附屬物。耳朵有各種尺寸、各種形狀；它們是漫畫家的最愛，漫畫家可以藉由誇大耳朵的各種角度輕鬆地捕捉誇張的模仿。闌尾和尾骨曾被那些相信它們沒有什麼重要功能的人，稱為「殘餘的附屬品」（vestigial
appendices）。不過，卻從來沒有人把耳朵稱為「殘留品」，因為它的價值不僅僅是美觀，更是功能性的。耶穌簡潔地說：「有耳可聽的人，就應當聽。」
我們的造物主賦予我們一些不可剝奪的責任，其中包括愛、順從、追求召命（vocation）。這些職責在英語中可以用一個四字母的單詞來概括，而這個單詞已成為現代的「髒話」：責任（duty）。責任包括要回應法院的傳召，履行某個義務和留意神給人的呼召。
我們的耳朵每天都被各種噪音所攻擊，這使得我們有時難以區分真正的呼召和無意義的雜音。我們每天都接到各式各樣的「召喚」（calls）：包括電話，火災通報（fire calls），叫醒電話（wake-up calls），喝倒彩的噓聲（cat calls），騷擾電話（crank alls），上門服務（house calls），錯誤的判決（bad calls；由足球裁判所作的）和最後一分鐘才說要回來吃晚餐的電話。我們接到來自老闆、老師、山姆大叔（譯按：指國稅局）的電話；登機口的通報，銷售電話和大自然的召喚。
只有一種召喚具有絕對和最終義務的力量。我可以忽視打給我的電話，甚至無視山姆大叔的電話，逃到加拿大，同時懷抱著未來大赦的夢想。上帝的呼召也可能被我們所忽視或悖逆，但我們絕無可能逍遙法外。我可以和貝蒂或莎莉結婚，住在芝加哥或塔城（Tuscaloosa）。我可以建個小房子或大宅院，甚至住在公寓裏。我可以駕駛凱迪拉克或本田——這是個自由的國家。然而，就召命而言，這不是個自由的宇宙。我的一生中，有一個絕對的、無可商量的要求，就是我必須忠於自己的召命。這是我的職責。
活在神的面光中（在神面前禱告）：
你在回應上帝的呼召嗎？你是否忠於你蒙召的召命？
進一步研讀：
太十一15 有耳可聽的，就應當聽！
來三7～8 聖靈有話說：你們今日若聽他的話， 就不可硬著心，像在曠野惹他發怒、試探他的時候一樣。
來四7 所以過了多年，就在大衛的書上，又限定一日，如以上所引的說：「你們今日若聽他的話，就不可硬著心。」
Doing Your Duty
The
human ear is a strange appendage. Ears come in all sizes and shapes; they are
the delight of the cartoonist, who can capture caricatures easily by
exaggerating their angles. The appendix and the coccyx have been dubbed
“vestigial appendices” by those convinced of their relatively useless
functional value. No one has ever called the ear “vestigial,” as its value is
not so much cosmetic but functional. Jesus put it succinctly: “He who has ears
to hear, let him hear.”
We
are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable responsibilities, among
which are love, obedience, and the pursuit of vocation. These may be summed up
with one four-letter word that has become a modern-day obscenity: duty. Duty
involves answering a summons, responding to an obligation, and heeding a call.
Our
ears are assaulted daily by a cacophony of sounds making it difficult at times
to distinguish between a bona fide call and senseless noise. We get phone
calls, fire calls, wake-up calls, cat calls, crank calls, house calls, bad
calls (by referees), and late calls for dinner. We get calls from our bosses,
our teachers, and Uncle Sam; calls to departure gates, sales calls, and nature
calls.
Only
one call carries the force of absolute and ultimate obligation. I may ignore my
phone calls and defy even the call of Uncle Sam, fleeing to Canada while
nursing a hope for future amnesty. The call of God may also be ignored or
disobeyed, but never with impunity. I may marry Betty or Sally and live in
Chicago or Tuscaloosa. I may build a small house or a big house, or even live
in an apartment. I can drive a Cadillac or a Honda—it’s a free country. With
respect to vocation, however, it is not a free universe. One absolute,
nonnegotiable requirement of my life is that I be true to my vocation. This is
my duty.
Coram
Deo
Are
you responding to the call of God? Are you being true to the vocation to which
you are called?
Passages
for Further Study
Hebrews
3:7–8
Hebrews
4:7