原来基督的爱激励我们。（林后五14）
保罗说他被基督的爱统管支配，如同给钳子钳住一样。很少人知道被神的爱抓紧是怎么一回事，因我们往往被自己的经历所约制。但约制保罗的只有一件，就是神的爱，除此便别无所见。“基督的爱激励我们”，信徒身上有没有这个音符，一听便知。在这些人的生命里，圣灵通行无阻。
当圣灵重生了我们，我们作见证的重点在神为我作了什么，这是对的。但受了圣灵的洗，这些就成为过去的经验，我们才开始了解耶稣说“你们是我的见证”的意思了。不是见证耶稣能够做什么，那是初步的见证，而是“见证我”。我们要视所有的事，都是发生在他身上，不论是称许或指责，是逼迫或赞赏。人若未曾被他能力的威严所感召，绝不能为他站立。这是最要紧的事，而奇怪的，这却是基督工人最忽略的。保罗说他被神的爱抓住了，就成了他一生行事的动力。
人说他疯狂，说他拘谨，他也毫不介意。他只为一件事而活，就是叫人相信神的审判和基督的爱。这种为基督的爱丢弃万事的人生，才可以结出生命的果子，将神圣洁与大能的形象刻在人心里。这是神的圣洁，绝不是我们个人的圣洁。
祈祷◆“在柱顶上刻着百合花。” 噢，主啊，这句话在我的脑海中，尤其是我对那粗糙、不起眼的“百合花”是何其无知。愿我藉着表达和经历你的恩典，能属于你。
February 4 The Compelling Majesty of His Power
The love of Christ compels us . . . —2 Corinthians 5:14
Paul said that he was overpowered, subdued, and held as in a vise by “the love of Christ.” Very few of us really know what it means to be held in the grip of the love of God. We tend so often to be controlled simply by our own experience. The one thing that gripped and held Paul, to the exclusion of everything else, was the love of God. “The love of Christ compels us . . . .” When you hear that coming from the life of a man or woman it is unmistakable. You will know that the Spirit of God is completely unhindered in that person’s life.
When we are born again by the Spirit of God, our testimony is based solely on what God has done for us, and rightly so. But that will change and be removed forever once you “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . .” (Acts 1:8). Only then will you begin to realize what Jesus meant when He went on to say, “. . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . . .” Not witnesses to what Jesus can do— that is basic and understood— but “witnesses to Me . . . .” We will accept everything that happens as if it were happening to Him, whether we receive praise or blame, persecution or reward. No one is able to take this stand for Jesus Christ who is not totally compelled by the majesty of His power. It is the only thing that matters, and yet it is strange that it’s the last thing we as Christian workers realize. Paul said that he was gripped by the love of God and that is why he acted as he did. People could perceive him as mad or sane-he did not care. There was only one thing he lived for— to persuade people of the coming judgment of God and to tell them of “the love of Christ.” This total surrender to “the love of Christ” is the only thing that will bear fruit in your life. And it will always leave the mark of God’s holiness and His power, never drawing attention to your personal holiness.