A Chance to Serve 事奉的机会
Author: Bro Goh Hun Keng
Translated by: Sis Charis Ong
When God asked Isaiah “Whom shall I send?”, Isaiah replied “Here I am. Send me.” Should the church ask through the mouth of the pastor today, whom shall I send, would you reply, ‘Here I am. Send me.”?
Is it a mere chance that we became part of this church? A Jewish rabbi said, there are no ‘coincidences’ in the Bible of the Jews. All things that happened did so by the hand and will of God. When God places an opportunity to serve before us, how do we respond and make wise choices? Jesus told his followers a parable of the banquet (Luke14:15-23). Those who were invited by the host declined his invitation for their own reasons: one said he had to go and see the field he just purchased; the second said he had to examine the five yoke of oxen he just bought; another said he could not attend because he got just married… in the end, the host of the banquet said: none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. This is a missed opportunity of being blessed due to a negative response.
The master-servant relationship is a theme that runs throughout the Bible. During Biblical times, many servants were purchased by masters at high prices from the slave market, therefore the servants must obey the masters’ instructions. We are redeemed through believing in Jesus to become Christians, and God paid a heavy price for our redemption. As such, we are also known as servants of God who await His calling and instructions, just like the parable Jesus told of the three servants who received five talents, two talents and one talent each. Eventually, some were commended, and some were reprimanded and punished. We have all received talents, yet it is up to us to decide which kind of a servant we want to be.
When the chance to serve comes by, no matter the level of importance, avoid saying ‘no’ recklessly such that the opportunity just passes you by. As the saying goes, “the wise seizes the opportunity, the foolish loses it”. We must try to adopt a positive attitude as ancient poets wrote, “I am born to be good at something”. May the Lord grant us wisdom and faith, help us face reality and challenges bravely, overcome obstacles and make wise choices, to become part of the Great Commission.
文:吴汉卿弟兄
当神问以赛亚“我可以差谴谁？”以赛亚就回应说：“我在这里请差遣我”。若是今天教会籍着牧师问你，我可以差遣谁，你会说：“我就在这里，请差遣我吗？”
我们从进入本教会而成为会友，是偶然的机会吗？一位犹太拉比说，在犹太人的圣经里是没有“巧合”这个字。一切事情的发生，都有神巧妙的安排和旨意。当神把事奉的机会放在我们面前，我们如何应对而作明智的选择呢？耶稣在选召跟随他的人时讲了一个宴席的比喻（路加福音14：15-23）。被这盛大宴会主人邀请的这些人都推辞不能来，纷纷说出各自的理由：一个说，买了一块地，要去看看；第二个说，买了五对牛要去试试看；另一个说，刚娶妻子所以不能去……主人最后说：原本被邀请那些人，没有一个能够尝到我的宴席。这是一个负面回应而失去蒙福机会的结果。
圣经里多次谈到仆人和主人之间的关系。当时，许多仆人都是由主人从奴隶市场重价买赎回来的，因此仆人就要顺从主人的吩咐去做当做的事。人因信耶稣蒙救赎而得救成为基督徒，也算是神用重价把人赎回来。因此，我们也被称为神的仆人，等候神的呼召和吩咐，就好像耶稣的比喻里所提到那领五千、二千和一千银子的仆人的事件。结果是有被称赞和奖赏的人，也有被责备和处罚的人 。我们都是领受银子的一群，要选择做哪一种仆人，决定在于你自己。
有事奉的机会临到，无论是大或小的事奉，都不要轻易推迟而让它流失。俗语说：“智慧人抓住机会，愚昧人失去机会”。我们需要常常抱着乐观的态度，如古诗人所写：“天生我才必有用”。求神赐给我们智慧与信心，帮助我们勇于面对现实和挑战，排除一切的障碍，作明智的选择，成为大使命的 一分子。