A Focus On Discipleship 聚焦于训练门徒
Author: Bro Timothy Chen
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”
"Work hard in a job, earn money for my family" - loving as it may sound, these were some justifications I had, in my pursuit of a better career and better pay. God doesn't need our money, nor does he need our pay. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Creator God and Ruler of all things. He feeds the birds, clothes the lilies, loves, cares for, and protects us as his dearest children. All he wants for us is to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt 6:33).
What then should our focus be on? Love your neighbour as yourself. 3 times, Jesus asked John to "Feed my sheep". The call to disciple has been a clear and consistent message from God, to attend to, care for, and build them up spiritually. The question I often ask myself is: have I done so in any capacity? Can I then truly focus on the heart of our Father, and choose to feed his sheep?
The decision to re-devote to God is not hard to make, following through is usually where we fail. We struggle, get tired, and stop trying... only to wait for the next wake-up call before we start trying again. How many times will we break the heart of our Father as we slip back into a life devoted to our sinful selves? Our Father knows we cannot do this alone and has given us brothers and sisters to run this marathon together. Sometimes it gets painful and tiring, sometimes it's liberating. What matters more is knowing that we are not running this race alone and that we are here to support, encourage and move everyone along together. Let us cherish this enduring spiritual kinship in kindness and acceptance while holding a certain stubbornness to love and account for one another in our pursuit of his kingdom and his righteousness. Let us stand strong as a Church, with a clear and intentional focus to glorify God in loving his people and bringing everyone closer to Christ.
文:陈国彬弟兄
翻译:王佩瑾师母
“你们要先求他的国和他的义，这一切都必加给你们。”
“努力工作，赚钱养家”- 这听起来似乎是非常顾家的举动，也曾是我追逐事业发展及更高薪酬的理由。但是，神不需要我们的钱，也不需要我们的薪水。祂是阿拉法及俄梅戛，是万物的创造者及主宰。祂养活天上的飞鸟和百合花，看顾及保护身为祂的子民的我们。祂只要求我们“先求祂的国和他的义，这些东西都要加给你们了 。” （马太福音 6：33）
我们的焦点应该放在哪里？爱人如爱己。耶稣对约翰重复了 三遍要“喂养我的羊”。训练门徒一直是神明确且一致的讯息，要我们看顾，关心，帮他们建立属灵生命。我常问自己的一个问题，就是我有没有做到这一点。我能不能把专注力放在天父的心，选择喂养祂的羊？
选择重新奉献给神并不难，难的是坚持下去。我们挣扎，感到疲惫，然后放弃... 等到下一次被唤醒时又开始尝试。 像这样重复着回到只顾满足自己的生活，伤透天父的心，不知要有多少回？我们的天父知道单靠自己，我们是无法完成使命的，所以祂给了我们弟兄姐妹一起完成这场马拉松长跑。有时会变得痛苦和疲惫，有时有被解放的感觉。重要的是，我们要知道我们并不孤独，而是大家互相鼓励，相互扶持一起完成这场比赛的。让我们以恩慈彼此接纳并珍惜这灵里的亲情。在追求神国度和公义的旅途中坚持彼此相爱，互相守望。让身为教会的我们齐心协力，以荣耀神为明确及有意义目标，来爱祂的子民，使他们更接近耶稣基督。