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若是没有神的呼召,我们很难把某个工作岗位当作是尽心去服侍他的哨岗,忠心服侍直到他让我们离开;而若是有神的呼召,那么只要顺服圣灵在这个岗位中的引导,就会经历神在其中的祝福。


思想随笔系列06 

 

一、

记得还没有归信基督之前,有次与一位同样对哲学非常感兴趣的朋友聊天,他说他不能信某种宗教,因为一旦信了某种宗教,就会再也无心于世俗的事情了。当时我的想法与他一样,心想,无心世事还是等到自己老到什么都干不了的时候再说吧。

后来,当我归信了基督后,在我身上并没有出现那种情况,以至于早就把之前的担忧忘记了。或许是因为自己比较理性,开始没有太明显地经历那种死过去又活过来的过程。不过,倒是在教会中看到不少这种情况,即原来感兴趣而一心去追求的世事,现在不再有兴趣了,而新的追求还没有替补上来时,生活像是一下子失去了动力和目标;除了参加教会活动的那段时间还算有些意思外,其他都无心亦无力去做了。等到后来我有了相似的经历时,我才意识到,如果不是被神所抓住才失去对世事的兴趣的话,确实是挺可怕的。生活中似乎没有哪个领域是有趣而让人渴望的。

 

二、

其实,被神抓住,就是在他让你所看见的当中经历真实与欢喜。门徒在变相山上的经历,如果没有他们所信任的耶稣与他们同在的话,不过是一种逃避的“梦境”而已;但因为他们对这位所跟随的主的信,就让他们看这是如此的真实,并且无法不说这里实在是好。好到保罗情愿离世与基督同在,因为那是好的无比的。其实,这里还是有人非常渴望的。

不过,只要我们还在这个世上生活,在变相山的经历就不会太久。如果我们真有过在变相山的经历,而又显得是被迫离开的话,那在现实生活中的失落一定是很大的,无心再做世事也是可以理解的。或许,当年的主早已经知道这一点。所以在他离开的时候,应许圣灵保惠师要与门徒同在,并且在离开彼得的时候,三次问彼得,你爱我吗?

凡在确据中经历过基督的门徒,能够回到这个现实世界中来,乃是因为他的这个问题,你爱我吗?因着这个问题,彼得在圣殿的门口有信心向那个天生瘸腿的人伸出手去;因着同样的问题,保罗从心底里说,我在肉身活着,为你们更是要紧的。如果回到这个现实世界是出于基督的呼召,那么这呼召是起始于他的爱,并落实于我们对他的爱。这之间的爱就成为我们生活在此世的唯一的、终极的、永不会衰竭的核动力,推动着我们有力量去完成我们当做的事情,并会伴随着我们直走到此世的终点站。

 

三、

如果要想明白神对我们在此世的呼召为何,或许首先就会注意到,在来自他的呼召中,我们会重新看到自己此世生活的明确目标,并且为着这个目标,他会赐下圣灵的火,让我们对这个目标不由自主地充满热情。尽管摩西受召的时候,他并不情愿接受这个召命,但显明在他面前的那团火已经在他的心中点燃,让他在旷野行走的四十年中一直从中得力。保罗在大马色的路上知道他所遇到的那位是谁了以后,接着问的问题就是,我当作什么。基督的回答对他来说是足够明确的。他们所领受的人生目标是终生性的,是在生命之终点的地平线上升起来的。无论他们在生命要离去的时候完成到什么程度,他们都会从心里说我已经做了我所当作的。这种出自神呼召的目标,不会是短暂地而是时常地在我们内心中感动我们,并让我们在困境中得着方向,忘记背后,有足够的力量去努力面前,直到生命的终点。

其次,在神的呼召中还含着一种托付。你爱我吗?你喂养我的羊。这托付体现为一种负担与责任,并直接与对某个群体的某方面的服侍联系起来。神的呼召让我们所从事的不只是某些事情,而是事关其中被服侍的人群。这托付体现在我们是否对被托付的这个团体有负担,愿意担当在某方面服侍他们的责任,直到愿意舍去一切的地步。当然,真要涉及到需要舍去什么的话,最终不是因为责任,而是因为我们真的爱他。如果没有与所托付的群体有这层关联,那么呼召所显明的目标其实很难与我们蒙召前所追求的事业成功的目标区分开来。

当然,神不会呼召他的每一位门徒都在教会中全时间作牧养羊群的工作。因此,第三,在神的呼召中,还涉及他之前给我们的恩赐与训练。就是说,在蒙召前他让我们熟悉某个学科或生活领域,掌握某种专业技能,其实都不会是徒然的。在多数情况下,他不会召我们去做我们完全不了解的事情。当然,对蒙召前的这种预备,我们是在经历了生命的转变后才能认识到那是他赐的恩典。如果手里的杖不丢下,再从另一头抓起来,就不会变成神放在我们手中的杖。如果生命没有经历重生到一个地步,我们愿意为主放下过去所有的才能与知识,它们就不会成为神所使用的工具。当我们站在新的生命的基点上,重新把它们拿起来的时候,它们就会发出完全不一样的作用。

 

四、

总会听到人说,我对神给自己特别的呼召总是不太清楚。其实这或许是因为我们对作他门徒的呼召还不太清楚,而后者是对愿意跟随基督的每个门徒的呼召,以致我们无法因为不清楚而有所推诿。门徒的呼召是特别之呼召的基础,因为我们无论作什么工作,其实第一身份仍是基督的门徒。而作他门徒所需要操练的就是愿意舍己,背起十字架来跟随他。如果我们真愿意放下一切,特殊的呼召就不难明白了。

特别的呼召常表现为我们对工作或职分的选择。神其实愿意我们每个人都在某个确定的岗位工作,这是他赐给我们的,为的是在这岗位的服事中,操练敬虔,得享他的祝福。这些岗位更多的是在教会外,因为神虽然爱教会,但他所注目的不只是教会这一个群体。整个世界都在他的注目与护理之中。我们在其中所操练的敬虔体现在,在某个岗位中服事,乃是出于爱他的缘故,是出于爱他所托付的人的缘故。若无他的命令,就不会擅自离开岗位。

人生就如哨岗——古希腊哲学家毕达戈拉斯说出这句名言的时候,不知他的门徒是否能够做到。不过我们知道,若是没有神的呼召,我们很难把某个工作岗位当作是尽心去服侍他的哨岗,忠心服侍直到他让我们离开;而若是有神的呼召,那么只要顺服圣灵在这个岗位中的引导,就会经历神在其中的祝福。

 

 

 


 

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Saving Pastor Gong

Please Help Saving jailed Pastor Gong of Huanan Chruch

http://ministrysolar.wix.com/pastor-gong-huanan

~~~

Since Dec 2, 2012, my father Pastor Shengliang Gong had High Blood Pressure and Cerebral Infraction, but he never got the proper medical checkup and adequate treatments. Consequently, my father’s illness got worse and worse. More than once my father almost fell to the ground during last November.

Finally when he got the checkup on November 26th 2013, the doctor said my father’s illness was not very optimistic. He was having Cerebral Infraction, Encephalatrophy, Brain Lesions and Leukoaraiosis, etc. The doctor said that my father needs to have checkup every three months. So we repeatedly requested the prison officials to perform checkup accordingly, once every three months. The prison said that they had one done on April 17th, but refused to release the hospital’s medical treatments records and conclusions to neither my father nor the family members. They would not make any specific statements about my father’s illness. Now, my father and our family have no ideas about the level of his illness.

       Since my father illness, previously we could buy some appropriate medicines for him according to his known conditions pieced together from oral communications of diagnosis, after consulting with doctors. Though this won’t amount to totally healing, it was the only way our family could do for him under the circumstances. But now, as the prison withholding medical records from us, we are unable to know his condition and thus cannot providing suitable medicines for him-the very minimum request was denied of us.

       The inadequate medical treatments within the prison cannot give my father prompt and sufficient treatments. Yet the prison won’t send him to hospitals outside for necessary treatments and regular checkups, causing further serious damages to his health. The prison won’t allow him the fundamental human rights; they also deprive his right to know about his illness condition. The prison as law enforcement agency behaves illegally. Effectively, they are directly pushing my gravely ill father to dead end street of death.

       I appeal to the international communities concerning my father’s health and human rights conditions. Please join us to rally for my father and our family’s rights to medical records and the right to know the situation of my father’s sickness; also his right to have regular medical treatments, thereby saving his life and protect his fundamental rights!!

 

Pastor Shengliang Gong’s daughter: Huali Gong

June 30th 2014

Cell Phone: 13241248388

Han Kou prison department phone number: 027-83556018

Instructor Hanwen Wang: 15327298562

 

 

三化異象
中國福音化
  五十年來,中國大陸的信徒從不到100萬(1949)遽增到八千萬(2000),這是中國五千年來難得的宣教黃金時期;在中國教會裡,也普遍呈現「羊在找牧人」的現象,上帝為中國敞開了大門!現在就是「中國福音化」的關鍵時刻!
教會國度化
  教會是基督榮耀的身體,是一切事工的根柢。今日世界各地的基督教宗派都去中國宣教,如何促使海外教會超越宗派主義,中國教會突破山頭主義,共同營造具有「國度觀」的宣教事工,將是中國教會拓展生根的關鍵時刻!
文化基督化
  1989年「六四」之後,大批的中國知識分子信主,他們承認了理性的局限性,也不再提「反宗教、反帝國主義」,轉而思考基督教對中國現代化有何貢獻?如今正是因勢利導,以基督思想來影響中國文化,以聖經真理來更新中國文化的關鍵時刻!

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