10月1日
标 题：痛苦的提醒
经 节：但有些犹太人从安提阿和以哥念来，挑唆众人，就用石头打保罗，以为他是死了，便拖到城外。（使徒行传十四章19节）
神使用许多方法使我们断念不再犯罪。其中一个方法是为我们安排能提醒我们的事物，使我们永远不会悖逆祂。在保罗改变信仰成为基督徒之前，他理所当然地自认在神面前是公义的。实际上，保罗根本失去判断力，他逮捕基督徒并运行判决，好讨神喜悦！当保罗看司提反因信仰而残忍地被谋杀时，他的心是那么地盲目，不明白神的旨意。当时保罗的心很冷酷，甚至决定要捉拿其他的基督徒。
在新约中，曾记载两处用石头打人的事件，值得我们注意的是：一次是打司提反，一次是打保罗。神容许保罗像司提反一样被石头打，这是偶然发生的事件吗？神当然早已赦免保罗当初有分于杀害司提反的行为，然而，神也留给他一个提醒，不叫他忘掉当初因为骄傲自负所犯的错误。如果骄傲曾经一度使保罗视而不见神的心意，骄傲可能会再次拦阻保罗。也许保罗“身上的那根刺”，就是被石头击打的后遗症。这对保罗和其他人来说，可能是那可怕罪行所造成的后果，也是一个显而易见的提醒。
神是绝对公义的。祂爱，祂赦免，但祂绝不妥协自己的公义。神独特地对待每一个人。祂使用我们的经验，教导我们认识祂。神会赦免我们的罪，也会严厉地提醒罪恶丑陋的一面。让我们感谢神，因祂的大爱，愿意提醒我们罪恶在生活中所带来毁灭性的结果。
Painful
Reminders
Then
Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes,
they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.
(Acts 14:19)
God
has many ways to deter us from sin. One is to provide reminders for us so that
we never take disobedience to Him lightly. Before his conversion, Paul assumed
that he was righteous before God. In reality, Paul was so disoriented to God that
he arrested and executed Christians in order to please Him! Paul was so blinded
to God’s will that when he watched Stephen being brutally murdered for his
faith, Paul’s heart was hardened, and he became even more determined to
imprison other Christians.
It
is significant that there are two occurrences of stoning mentioned in the New
Testament—Stephen’s and Paul’s. Was it coincidence that God allowed Paul to be
stoned in the same manner as Stephen had been? God had certainly forgiven Paul
for his involvement in Stephen’s death, but God also left him with a reminder
of what his arrogance had led him to do. If pride could blind Paul to God once,
pride could do it again. Perhaps Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was a direct
result of this stoning. It may have served as a visible reminder to Paul, and
to others, of the terrible consequences of sin.
God
is absolutely just. He loves, and He forgives, but He does not compromise His
righteousness. God deals with us uniquely. He draws upon our experiences to
teach us about Himself. God will forgive us of our sin, but He may provide
stark reminders of the ugliness of sin. Let us thank God that He loves us
enough to remind us of the destructive consequences of sin in our lives.
