體驗變化更新ExperiencingTransformation
[每日靈修] 10/4/2018, 駱鴻銘編譯
我們生來就都有同樣的病症。愛上帝、愛基督，並不是我們的天性。在我們能夠愛上帝之前，我們身上必須發生一些改變。我們的石心必須變成肉心，這個肉心會跳動著新的生命和對上帝的新感情。當人們談到「重生」時，他是在談論他內心的轉變。
當上帝使我們從屬靈的死亡活過來時，當祂藉著祂的聖靈使我們重生時，祂會對我們的心進行徹底的手術。祂會把石頭變成活生生的組織。回轉是使我們的心獲得新的性情、新的傾向、新的決心。以前我們對上帝充滿敵意、冷漠、無動於衷，現在我們被祂熱烈地吸引。
成為基督徒就是成為一個新人。我們經歷了一場植根於心靈的轉化。
我們對上帝的瞭解越深，我們愛祂的能力就越大。我們愛祂越多，我們服從祂的能力就越大。然而，我們的新感情必須成長。我們蒙召要全心全意地愛上帝。新的肉心必須靠神的聖言得到餵養。如果我們忽略我們的新心，它們也會經歷某種的硬化。它們不會再次回復到徹底的石心，但它們可能會變得像皮革一樣硬。
新的心是聖靈的創造。同一位聖靈在我們裏面運行，結出祂的果子。若我們傾心於上帝，祂聖靈的果子就會在我們的生命中成倍增長。未重生的人可以作一些外表上的公義行為，然而，凡是只有石心的人，就無法產生真正的聖靈果子。
我們的成聖是一個「心」的問題。這是一個湧流自與上帝親密相交的過程。耶穌藉著展示愛與律法之間的關聯來總結這件事：「你們若愛我，就必遵守我的命令。」（約十四15）
活在神的面光中（在神面前禱告）：
你越瞭解上帝，你愛祂的能力就越大。你對祂的瞭解有多深？因此，你的順從或缺乏順從，就反映了這個問題的答案。
進一步研讀：
來四12 神的道是活潑的，是有功效的，比一切兩刃的劍更快，甚至魂與靈，骨節與骨髓，都能刺入、剖開，連心中的思念和主意都能辨明。
箴四23 你要保守你心，勝過保守一切，因為一生的果效是由心發出。
約十四15
你們若愛我，就必遵守我的命令。
Experiencing
Transformation
We
are all born with the same malady. Love for God and affection for Christ are
not natural to us. Before we can love God, something must happen to us. Our
hearts of stone must be changed into hearts of flesh, hearts that pulsate with
new life and new affection for God. When one speaks of being “born again,”he is
speaking of his change of heart.
When
God quickens us from spiritual death, when He regenerates us by His Holy
Spirit, He does radical surgery on our hearts. He turns the stone into living
tissue. To be converted is to gain a new disposition, a new inclination, a new
bent to our hearts. Where formerly we were hostile, cold, or indifferent to
God, now we are warmly attracted to Him.
To be
a Christian is to be a new person. We have undergone a transformation that is
rooted in the heart.
The
more we know of God, the greater is our capacity to love Him. The more we love
Him, the greater is our capacity to obey Him. Our new affection, however, must
be made to grow. We are called to love God with our whole hearts. The new heart
of flesh must be nurtured. It must be fed by the Word of God. If we neglect our
new hearts, they too can undergo a kind of hardening. They will not revert once
more to a total heart of stone, but they can get a bit leathery.
The
new heart is the creation of the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit is working
within us to yield His fruit. As our hearts are more inclined to God, so the
fruit of His Spirit is multiplied in our lives. Unregenerate people can perform
external acts of righteousness, but no man with a heart of stone can yield the
authentic fruit of the Spirit.
Our
sanctification is a matter of the heart. It is a process that flows from
intimate fellowship with God. Jesus summarized the matter by showing the link
between love and law: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
Coram
Deo
The
more you know God, the greater is your capacity to love Him. How well do you
know Him? Your obedience or lack thereof reflects the answer to this question.
Passages
for Further Study
Hebrews
4:12
Proverbs 4:23
John 14:15