4月26日 要智慧地使用安慰
要智慧地使用安慰
当你沉浸在安慰中时，切莫松懈。相反，应趁着这蒙福的时刻，比以往更殷勤地为主作工。
不要用你所得的安慰多少来衡量恩典的深浅。 神并不一定因为你“表现好”就发放安慰作为奖金。祂爱的显现能见证你里面恩典的真实性，却不能代表你里面恩典的程度和分量。事实上，软弱的孩子往往比刚强的孩子更频繁地赖在父母怀中。
当你沉浸在安慰中时，切莫松懈。相反，应趁着这蒙福的时刻，比以往更殷勤地为主作工。神爱的显现，是为了装备我们去作工。沐浴在祂安慰的光中是一回事，带着安慰的能力出去工作又是另一回事。一个整天数钞票却从不投资的人是愚昧的；而一个把资本投入运作并赚取利润的人才是智慧的。在属灵的事上，囤积安慰的人终必失去；为基督使用安慰的人，反能让本钱增长五倍、十倍，甚至百倍。
切莫以为你自己就是安慰的源头。你要记得，持续的平安与喜乐全然仰赖神。昨日的笑脸无法让今日的你快乐，正如昨日的干粮无法填饱今日的饥饿。你每天都需要领受神爱的新鲜供应。只要神稍稍掩面，你很快就会忘记那滋味，陷入黑暗。
若有人看见阳光照进窗户，便想关上百叶窗把光“困”在屋里，我们定会笑他痴傻。同样，若我们去抓眼前的喜乐便转脸离弃了神，以为靠这点存货就能过活，也是一样的愚昧。人只有站在阳光下才能感到温暖；人只有持续转脸仰望神，才能感受到祂的安慰。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：民3章，诗37章，
个人灵修：歌1章，来1章
APRIL 26, SUNDAY
USE COMFORTS WISELY
Do not grow lax when you are being comforted. Rather, use this time of blessing to work harder than ever for the Lord.
Do not measure your grace by your comfort. God does not necessarily send you an extra measure of comfort as a reward for being good. Such discoveries of His love do indeed bear witness to the truth of His grace in you, but they say nothing about the degree and measure of your inherent grace. The weak child may be—in fact, generally is—oftener in his parent’s lap than the strong one.
Do not grow lax when you are being comforted. Rather, use this time of blessing to work harder than ever for the Lord. The manifestations of God’s love are to fit us for our work. Basking in the light of His comfort is one thing; going forth in the power of the Spirit’s comfort is quite another. How foolish is the man who spends all his time counting his money but never invests it; how wise is the one who puts his money to work for him and earns dividends. Spiritually speaking, the one who hoards his comforts will lose what he has, while the one who puts his comforts to work for Christ will increase his stock five, ten, even a hundredfold.
Do not think you are the source of your own comfort. Remember that you depend on God for your continued peace and joy. The smiles you had yesterday will not make you happy today, any more than the bread you ate then will keep you satisfied if you do not eat again. You will need new drafts of God’s love every day to keep you satisfied. Let God hide His face just for a moment, and you will quickly forget the taste and lose sight of the comforts you had just a short time earlier.
How we would ridicule the man who, when the sun shines in at his window, tries to trap the sunbeams indoors by closing the shutters. But we are just as foolish to take our present joy, then turn away from God’s presence, supposing that we have all we need. You can feel the heat from the sun only when you stand beneath its rays; you can feel God’s comfort only as you keep your face turned toward Him.