9月14日 争辩与顺服

向基督所存纯一清洁的心。(林后十一3)

纯一是看清事务的要诀。圣徒有时思路不清,可是应该可以毫无困难的看得清楚。属灵的迷乱并不是靠思想可以得出头绪。

必须顺服神,就清楚了。属乎理性的事,你可以赖思想得着出路,但属灵的事,只会愈想愈一团糟。若在什么事上神的手加压力,就要顺服,把幻想拘禁在你对基督的顺服里;这样,一切就会明亮如白昼。理智是在后面才用的,但凭自己的聪明去看事物,就一无所见。 (太十一25)

我们若容让极小的事不顺服圣灵的控制,就会陷入属灵的迷乱中,即使花上多少思虑,也不能叫事态明朗。属灵的乱堆,只有靠顺服才可以澄清。我们一顺服,就能辨明。这是叫我们羞愧,因为在迷乱之中,我们知道问题是出于心志的状态。天然的视力若交给圣灵,就变成透察神旨意的能力,而整个生命也就能保持纯一。

祈祷◆噢,我何等渴望被祢全然占有,让我的身、心、灵都被祢如火挑旺。黑暗中仍潜伏着许多东西,这些东西是何等的丢脸。

September 14 Imagination V. Inspiration

“The simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3

Simplicity is the secret of seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly for a long while, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think a spiritual muddle clear, you have to obey it clear. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will think yourself into cotton wool. If there is something upon which God has put His pressure, obey in that matter, bring your imagination into captivity to the obedience of Christ with regard to it and everything will become as clear as daylight. The reasoning capacity comes afterwards, but we never see along that line, we see like children; when we try to be wise we see nothing (Matthew 11:25).

The tiniest thing we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is quite sufficient to account for spiritual muddle, and all the thinking we like to spend on it will never make it clear. Spiritual muddle is only made plain by obedience. Immediately we obey, we discern. This is humiliating, because when we are muddled we know the reason is in the temper of our mind. When the natural power of vision is devoted to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the power of perceiving God's will and the whole life is kept in simplicity.