規劃永恆Planning for Eternity
[每日靈修] 11/2/2018, 駱鴻銘編譯
未來會怎樣？你的收入在五年後會有多少？三年後你的健康狀況如何？人類文明對你的子女和孫兒來說是否安全？我們會問這類的問題，即使只是在問自己。企業和傳道事工也會計劃未來，包括五年和十年計劃。
你有兩百年的計劃嗎？顯然，你知道在那個時期結束時你已經死了。
你的死會給你帶來什麼呢？約伯這樣問道：「人若死了豈能再活呢？」（伯十四14）。
關於美國宗教的蓋洛普民意調查顯示，大多數自稱為基督徒的人都相信死後有生命。然而，大多數人拒絕任何關於地獄的真實想法。「沒有地獄的天堂」的論證，主要並不是基於合理的聖經解釋，而是基於人類的情感。人們只是寧願不相信有地獄。這是一個很少有人可以冷靜討論的主題。然而，要否認地獄這個現實，必須堅決反對耶穌的明確教導。
讓我們考慮路加福音十六章19～26節中富人和拉撒路的比喻。這段經文清楚地表明了天堂和地獄之間存在著巨大的鴻溝。那是無法逾越的。兩百年後，我們會在永恆裏。兩千年、兩百萬年後，我們也會在那裏。
這個比喻中最重要的一點是，人們不願意聽從聖經的警告：真的會有一個最後的審判，任何進一步的懇求都沒有用（加十六27～31）。
活在神的面光中（在神面前禱告）：
請在今天花幾分鐘思考你的未來。你對未來的計劃是什麼？你的遠程計劃是什麼？你有沒有制定永恆的計劃？
進一步研讀：
伯十四14 人若死了豈能再活呢？我只要在我一切爭戰的日子，等我被釋放的時候來到。
路十六22～25 後來那討飯的死了，被天使帶去放在亞伯拉罕的懷裡。財主也死了，並且埋葬了。 他在陰間受痛苦，舉目遠遠的望見亞伯拉罕，又望見拉撒路在他懷裡， 就喊著說：『我祖亞伯拉罕哪，可憐我吧！打發拉撒路來，用指頭尖蘸點水，涼涼我的舌頭；因為我在這火焰裡，極其痛苦。』 亞伯拉罕說：『兒啊，你該回想你生前享過福，拉撒路也受過苦；如今他在這裡得安慰，你倒受痛苦。
路十六31 亞伯拉罕說：『若不聽從摩西和先知的話，就是有一個從死裏復活的，他們也是不聽勸。』」
Planning for Eternity
What
will the future be like? What will your income be in five years? What will your
health be like in three years? Will civilization be safe for your children and
your grandchildren? We ask questions like these, even if only to ourselves.
Businesses and ministries also plan for the future, including five- and
ten-year plans.
Do
you have a two hundred-year plan? Obviously, you expect that you will have died
by the end of that period.
What
will your death have brought you? Job asked it this way: “If a man die, shall
he live again?” (Job 14:14).
The
Gallup Poll on Religion in America indicates that the majority of professing
Christians believe in life after death. Most of those, however, reject any real
idea of hell. The arguments for a heaven without a hell are based primarily not
on sound biblical exegesis but on human sentiment. People simply prefer not to
believe in hell. It is a subject very few can discuss dispassionately. Yet to
deny the reality of hell, one must stand firmly opposed to the unambiguous
teaching of Jesus.
Consider
the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–26. This passage clearly
indicates a great chasm between heaven and hell. It is unbridgeable. Where we
are in eternity is where we will be in two hundred years. It is where we will
be in two thousand years and in two million years.
The
very point of this parable is that people are reluctant to heed the biblical
warnings of a judgment that truly is final, with all further appeals exhausted
(Luke 16:27–31).
Coram
Deo
Spend
a few minutes today reflecting on your future. What are your plans for your
immediate future? What are your long-range plans? Have you made your eternal
plans?
Passages
for Further Study
Luke
16:22–25