The Heart of our Father 为父的心
Author: Deacon Timothy Chen
Luke 15: 11-32
An all too familiar story even among our non-believing friends is the parable of the prodigal son. The love and forgiveness of our Father is one who would not choose to scorn at our betraying hearts but long for our return with celebration. I have always only placed myself in the shoes of the prodigal child, feeling assured each time that God will forgive and be compassionate with me when I reunite with him. However, I have recently been exposed to a different perspective, where we can place ourselves in the shoes of the older brother instead!
As the story goes, the older brother is a goody two shoes who obeys his father, and works hard for him. This pretty much describes many of us Christians who have been serving in various ministries, who works hard to keep His commandments and are committed to our service in Church. The younger brother in this case, would be our non-believing friends who belong to God and have yet to return to his side! When the prodigal child returned after squandering his inheritance, unlike the Father who rejoices at the return of this prodigal son, his older brother became angry instead. It seems like his sights and heart were focused on the material wealth or inheritance he can get from his father rather than the safety, wellbeing and reunion of his brother. Are we behaving the same then? Do we also share the heart of our father that yearns for our unbelieving brothers? This calls for self-examination on our heart and attitude, and a call to evangelism. Let’s pray for our hearts to be like that of our Father, and be resolved to make conscious efforts to witness and to invite.
Don’t be mistaken that Evangelism is some grand, big, and seemingly impossible to achieve thing for a non-pastor/church leader. Evangelism can start from smallest things like striking a spiritual conversation or praying with a friend.
文:陈国彬执事
翻译:许燕俊执事
路加福音15:11-32
浪子回头的故事家喻户晓,就连非基督徒的朋友们也很熟悉。为父的心是一个因着爱与饶恕选择不看孩子的背叛，反而期待着浪子回头的一颗心。我常常把自己放在那浪子的身份，享受在父神的爱与饶恕里的安慰。然而，我最近发觉我们也可以尝试把自己放在那浪子的哥哥的角色。
故事里浪子的哥哥是一位很勤奋也很服从父亲的儿子。这好比我们在教会里忠心的服事，并尽量遵守上帝的教导。故事中的浪子应该是指那些还没回转向神的非基督徒朋友。当浪子将所分的的家产用尽回家时，这位哥哥的反应并不像他父亲那样的欢喜，反而他因为弟弟的归来而愤怒。因为哥哥心中所专注的乃是父亲所留给他的遗产，多过于弟弟的安危与全家的团聚。我们是不是也是如此呢？我们是否也有为父的心，期盼着我们未认识基督的弟兄姐妹们的归来？让我们藉此自我检讨我们的心和态度，并兴起我们传福音的热诚。求神给我们一颗为父的心，并下定决心，传主福音、作主见证！
请别把传福音想得太复杂。传福音也不是只有牧者和领袖才能办到的事。传福音可以从一些很小的事情开始，好比如与朋友聊一些属灵的话题或为他们祷告。