Spiritual Thought for the Week 2008/12/7

Spiritual Thought for the Week
Last Sunday we lit the first candle of Advent which represents hope. I wish this light brings hope to your life when you are challenged by darkness and difficulties.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
When a believer encounter difficulty, it is very easy for him to doubt God’s love. May be God is giving him a hard time deliberately. God does not sympathise his hardship. God does not care his misfortune. To others God is more lenient. But to him God is harsh. In disappointment he wants to blame God. This is a big misunderstanding. Contrary to what he thinks, it is because God loves that He allows hardship to come to His children. It is because of His good will that He let tribulations to happen to His love ones. Hardship and tribulation are angels from God sent to bring grace and gifts to us. But they don’t appear to be pleasant looking. And we are scared away by them.
God has a lot of grace and blessings to bestow upon us His people. But often they come in a disguised costume. A life without trial and tribulations may not be a life with grace and rewards. Such life only leads to superficial and artificial hope. This hope promises us a world with no sins or sufferings. It causes us to think that life is not a battle ground, or a pilgrimage to the promise land. We think the earthly home is the eternal home, and that human relationships are permanent relationships. We think our ideals can be achieved and that our desires can be actualized. A person who lives such an uneventful life will never learn to see things beyond the horizon. He will not look up to the sky. He will not feel he needs God. He will grow old and die inside his self made little circle. He wastes all his life in countless meaningless days.
But God has a higher goal for us. He has a more prosperous plan in store for us. In order to make it work, He has to first of all, break down our unrealistic plans. He has to wake us up from our self deceiving dreams. He has to let us meet with apparently unfortunate happenings. In the long run He will let us discover the spiritual blessings and peace that come along in the end. He will not give us instantaneous results right a way. But He will give us the fruits of good hope and the happiness in the future. Just like Joseph who was sold to slavery in the beginning, but in the end he became the prime minister of Egypt. Similarly after tribulations a believer will find himself coming out a more mature, Godly, spiritual and instrumental person. He will be pleasing to God and useful to men. Eventually, in the heavenly kingdom, he will receive unfathomable glory and rewards.

本周默想分享
上主日当将临节代表希望的蜡烛被燃点起来的时候，您漆黑的心情有没有也被燃亮呢？它有没有把您拉近神的意念，叫您生活更有指望？
"耶和华说，我知道我向你们所怀的意念，是赐平安的意念，不是降灾祸的意念，要叫你们後来有指望。"（耶29：11）
一个受苦遭难的信徒，容易怀疑到神的爱。可能想到神故意降灾祸给他，不体贴他的困苦，不顾念他的艰难，似乎对别人还好，对自己却不留情。同时容易灰心抱怨，这实在是对神的误会，不明白父的心。正是由於他的爱，才允许苦难临到他的儿女身上，正是由於他的美意，才叫他们遭到意外的事。苦难和风波都是神的使者所带来的恩赐和礼物，可是外表看来是不受欢迎的，起初倒是觉得可怕的。
神有许多恩典和福分要赐给属他的人，但常是化装来的。毫无苦难与风浪，并不一定是恩典与赏赐，只会给人轻浮和幻觉。似乎还以为这世界并不是罪恶苦海，人生也不是战场，征途，地上的家是永久的居所，亲人是不变的关系，自己的理想是真实的，欲望是可以达到的。平安无事的人是不会想得很远的，不会仰望天，不觉需要神。他可能就这样老死在自己的小圈子里，消逝在虚度的岁月中。
但是神有更高的目的，更大的祝福，要赐给一个人。就只有打乱他的迷梦，破灭他的幻想，叫他遭遇到似乎是不幸的灾祸。其实是要赐给他真正属灵的平安，不是得到目前的利益，乃是叫他後来有指望。正如约瑟的被卖为奴，後来却成为宰相。信徒受苦之後，生命变作圣洁，成熟，敬虔，属灵，讨神的喜悦，有益於人，将来在国度和永世里，必得到无比的荣耀和赏赐。