335 中翻英 (75) .... perplexed, but not in despair. 心里作難,却不至失望。 3/24/2023

 335 中翻英 (75)    .... perplexed, but not in despair.  心里作難,却不至失望。           3/24/2023   

朋友，三月二十四日的曠野筵席是要請主內的信徒默思，基督徒的生活是在軟弱中剛強，在痛苦中喜樂，在疑惑跟前表現出信心的胜利，是一個矛盾的統一。您認為基督徒的生活是這樣的嗎?

三月二十四日

        心里作難，卻不至失望。」（林后  4:8）

自從我悔改得救之日起，我衷誠的抱負，是要做一個真實的基督徒。當然我對基督徒的標准有自己的概念，而我是竭盡所能的去達到那個標准。我認為一個真實的基督徒一定從早到晚都是笑容可掬的！只要他流一滴眼淚，那他就不是活出得胜了。此外，他隨時隨地必須是勇气百倍，只要他稍有絲毫畏怯，那他在信靠主這件事上已經大大的失敗了。這樣的人，事實上离我的標准很遠了。

不過，我不久發覺，基督徒的生活与我所料想的，卻迥然不同。原來基督徒的生活是在軟弱中剛強，在痛苦中喜樂，在疑惑跟前表現出信心的胜利，是一個矛盾的統一。當一個基督徒在主里面最剛強的時候，他自己往往大感無能，當他最勇敢之際，他可能深知自己內在的畏懼，當他最喜樂的時辰，一种愁困的感覺又再向他回襲了。只有神那「何等浩大的能力」（弗1:19-20），才能把他提升到高處。

 

" The heart is troubled, but not disappointed." (2 Corinthians 4:8)

It has been my sincere ambition to be a true Christian, since I was converted and saved. Of course I have my own conception of what is the standard of Christianity, and I do my best to live for matching to that standard. I think a real Christian must be smiling from morning to night! As long as he sheds a single tear, he is not living a victorious life. In addition, he must be full of courage at any time and any place. As long as he has the slightest timidity, he has already failed greatly in trusting the Lord. Such a person is actually far from my standard.

However, I discovered soon that the Christian life was very different from what I had expected. It turns out that the life of a Christian is to be strong in weakness, to rejoice in pain, to show the victory of faith in the face of doubts, which is a unity of contradictions. When a Christian is strongest in the Lord, he often feels powerless; when he is bravest, he may be aware of his inner fear; when he is happiest, a feeling of distress returns Attacked him back. Only God's "great power" (Ephesians 1:19-20) could lift him to the heights.