12月23日
标 题：属灵的检验
经 节：耶稣的智慧和身量，并神和人喜爱祂的心，都一齐增长。（路加福音二章52节）
我们习惯以许多方式来衡量自己的进展。在学校有考试，在工作场合有考绩，身体的健康状况也有医生检查。然而，我们可能从未衡量自己灵性的成熟及社交的成长。当耶稣由婴儿、幼童、青少年到成年，神与人喜爱祂的心，随着祂的身量一齐增长。人们愈认识耶稣，他们愈信任祂。他们爱慕祂的智能和感激祂的怜悯。同样地，当耶稣与天父的关系继续成长，祂一直讨天父的欢喜。
使徒保罗说，当他刚信主的时候，他的行为好象属灵的婴孩。然而，当他的信心渐渐成熟时，他的行为开始像属灵的成人（哥林多前书十三：11）。在作婴孩的时候，言行像婴孩并无不妥，但竭力进到完全的地步，是每个信徒的责任（希伯来书六：1）。
当你初信主之时，不总是知道如何以灵里成熟的方式与人相交。你可能与嫉妒、愤怒或不饶恕奋战。但是，当你与基督同行的时间愈久，应该愈会像祂一样与人相交。当你与基督的形像愈一致，天父愈满意你的顺服，就像天父满意祂的爱子一样。偶尔衡量自己的灵命是有助益的。评估灵性成长的好方法，是询问身边成熟的基督徒，自己的言行是否显露出灵性的成熟。求神评估你的灵性是否成熟，是绝对有必要的。不完全与神相交的关系，永远不会使你满足的。
The
Wisdom of Spiritual Checking
And
Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke
2:52)
We
are accustomed to having our progress measured in many ways. We are given tests
in school, evaluations at work, and physical examinations by our doctors. Yet
we may never measure our spiritual or social growth. As Jesus grew from an
infant to a child to a youth to an adult, he “increased in stature” with God
and men. The better people knew Jesus, the more they trusted Him. They admired
His wisdom and appreciated His compassion. Likewise, as Jesus grew in His
relationship with His heavenly Father, He continued to please Him.
The
apostle Paul said that when he was a new Christian, he behaved as a spiritual
child, but as he matured in his faith, he began to act like a spiritual adult
(1 Cor. 13:11). There is nothing wrong with acting like a baby when you are an
infant, but it is the obligation of every believer to strive for maturity (Heb.
6:1).
When
you are a new believer, you will not always know how to relate to others in a
spiritually mature way. You may battle with envy, anger, or unforgiveness. But
the longer you walk with Christ, the more you should relate to others as He
does. As you are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, your heavenly Father
will become increasingly satisfied with your obedience to Him, as the Father
was with His Son. It is helpful for you to measure the progress in your
spiritual life from time to time. A good way to evaluate your spiritual growth
is to ask mature Christians around you if your actions reveal spiritual
maturity. It is imperative that you ask God to evaluate your spiritual maturity
and that you never become satisfied with less than a fully developed
relationship with God.
