良好的比较，还是错误的比较？
人与生俱来的本性使我们常常拿自己与他人比较。 无论是与朋友，家人，还是与网络上的人相比，我们总是不自觉地进行比较。 有人认为，比较有其积极的一面，因为它能让我们发现自己的弱点，并激励我们改进。然而，许多时候，比较源于我们的骄傲，最终使我们感到不满，甚至对他人和对神心生怨恨。 我们可以通过 《路加福音》 18:9-14中法利赛人与税吏的比喻来学习何为良好的比较与错误的比较。在这个比喻中，我们可以观察到每个角色所作的比较。 法利赛人拿自己与税吏相比， 用自己的善行衡量税吏的不足。他确实做了许多善事！毕竟，并不是每个人都能自愿每周禁食两次。 然而，正因为如此，他变得自以为是，轻视他人（路加福音 18:11）。 另一方面，税吏拿自己与神相比。就像在强光下，连最细微的尘埃都无所遁形一样，把自己放在神的标准下，他清楚地看见了自己的罪。 因此，他谦卑下来，真诚地悔改（路加福音 18:13）。 我们不应拿自己与他人比较。因为当我们这样做时，潜在的动机往往是希望借此让自己感觉更好，抬高自己。然而，耶稣在《马太福音》23:12中警示：“凡自高的，必降为卑。” 这种比较最终会让我们被贬低。 保罗也提醒我们，这种比较是不明智的（哥林多后书 10:12）。 我们的比较应以神的标准为基准。就像把一件白色衣物放在强光下检查是否洁白无瑕一样。 这可能会让人感到不适，因为这样的比较不会带来自信或骄傲的感觉。相反，就像税吏一样，我们可能会因察觉到自己众多的罪孽，而感到不配面对神，甚至心生沮丧。 然而，这种不舒服的感觉正是我们学习谦卑的过程。而我们如何应对这个过程，将决定我们作为基督徒的成长。 我们可以选择昂首挺胸，自我夸耀，认为自己比大多数人做了更多善事； 或者，我们可以低头悔改，满怀痛悔地向神呼求，寻求祂的赦免。
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1 分钟阅读
To Walk the Last Mile
“I’m here to walk the last mile with them,” the deacon thoughtfully summed up his role as an overseer of the nursing home. “In average we see about one off every month,” he added softly. From the bottom of my heart, I gave thanks to God for his humor, patience, candidness and, most of all, for enjoying his work. Located in Puli, a small township in central Taiwan, the Christian Renai Nursing Home is surrounded by verdant mountains. Founded in 1996, the nursing home sits peacefully on a premise of 177,950 square feet. As of December 2024, the facility is served by 50 staff and houses 85 residents. Of these residents, 60 percent are church members. Half of these members are still able to attend church services regularly. Each week, ten church services are held. The nursing home is where many last miles have been accomplished. Here care is given and received, from everyday functional activities to spiritual fulfillment. If one likens the whole person to a sculpture, the last mile is when the sculptor is nearing the completion of a work. Throughout life, God shapes us by various forces. Aging and infirmity are two such forces. Aging means going through many repetitions in life. Through these repetitions, God chips, chisels, and sands hard edges into gentle curves. The natural form of an individual is transformed into the fullness of His image. Through infirmity, God eventually takes away the outer form for the formless perfection from within. Job, at the brink of his life, likens this transformation of going from form to formlessness as a process of rigorous refinery (Job 19: 25-27; 23: 10; 42:5). David therefore pleads in his prayers, “Do not cast me off in the time of old age, do not forsake me when my strength fails” (Psalms 71:9). On a separate occasion, he asks God to sustain him in his sickbed when the day comes (Psalms 41:3). In response, through Isaiah, God reassuringly proclaims, “Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I carry, and will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:4). Meaning, even as we come with imperfection and an expiration date, God’s warranty is infinite. For His own glory, He is responsible for His own handiwork. Certainly, to the best of our ability, we take good care of ourselves. As the doctor’s advice goes, prevent the preventable and delay the inevitable. We aim to live actively, creatively and age gracefully. But when the inevitable meets us, we have no fear. Through the many repetitions in life, God has already prepared us ready for the day.
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2 分钟阅读
Not Afraid of Bad News
Face bad news with joy and strength with these 3 lessons from Habakkuk.
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2 分钟阅读