12月18日 忠心的考验

我们晓得万事都互相效力，叫爱神的人得益处。（罗八28）

只有忠心耿耿的人，才相信神安排环境。我们往往过于随便，不相信自己的境遇是神所安排；口头上虽然说相信，但当事情发生，往往视作人的作为。在任何情况下忠心，是指只有一个忠心的对象，就是我们的主。神若忽然改变某一个环境，我们就发现自己的不忠，因为没有看出这是出于神。我们根本看不出他的用意，而那件事我们的一生中也不会再重演。忠心的考验都是在那刻临到的。我们若学会在苦痛的环境中敬拜他，神愿意的话，可以在两秒钟内把环境扭转。

向耶稣基督效忠，是我们今日抗拒的事。我们可以忠于工作、事奉、或任何事情，但别叫我们效忠耶稣基督。不少信徒对效忠基督感到不耐烦。信主的人把主从宝座上推下来，比世界的人更甚。神成为一部祝福人的机器，耶稣基督成为工人中的工人。重点不是在我们为神工作，而是在我们完全效忠，以致他能透过我作工－－“我寄望于你的，是要你全力事奉，不发怨言，不求解释。”神要用我们，像他用他儿子一样。

祈祷◆噢，主啊，愿你今天的脸光光照我们，使我们都以极大的甜蜜和自由来配合你的计划，并且活泼轻快地与你一起走过。

December 18 The Test Of Loyalty

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” Romans 8:28

It is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances. We take such liberty with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to our Lord. Suddenly God breaks up a particular set of circumstances, and the realization comes that we have been disloyal to Him by not recognizing that He had ordered them; we never saw what He was after, and that particular thing will never be repeated all the days of our life. The test of loyalty always comes just there. If we learn to worship God in the trying circumstances, He will alter them in two seconds when He chooses.

Loyalty to Jesus Christ is the thing that we “stick at” to-day. We will be loyal to work, to service, to anything, but do not ask us to be loyal to Jesus Christ. Many Christians are intensely impatient of talking about loyalty to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more emphatically by Christian workers than by the world. God is made a machine for blessing men, and Jesus Christ is made a Worker among workers.

The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us – “I reckon on you for extreme service, with no complaining on your part and no explanation on Mine.” God wants to use us as He used His own Son.