一月七日
因我活着就是基督……（腓1:21）
信徒并不常为基督活着。当神的圣灵使他知罪，因着恩典使他看到那为己罪替死的救主时，他才开始为基督而活；当人新生，自天而生的时候起才为基督而活。耶稣是一颗重价的珍珠，信徒应当为他甘愿舍弃一切所有的。他全然赢得了我们的爱，使我们只爱他；我们要为他的荣耀而活，我们要为保卫他的福音而死；他是我们生活的模范，我们要照着他的样式雕出我们的品格来。保罗这话的意义实在超出我们的思想，这话显明他的生活的目的和目标就是基督——不只如此，他活着就是耶稣。有一位古圣徒说他自己在永生里吃喝睡觉，耶稣是他的呼吸，耶稣的灵魂就是他的灵魂，耶稣的心就是他的心，耶稣的生命就是他的生命。你公开承认你是一位基督徒，请问你的生活是否这样？你能诚实地说“我活着就是基督”吗？你是为基督而从事你的事业吗？并非为了自己的发展和家庭的供养吗？你问：“那算是一个卑鄙的缘由吗？”在基督徒确实是的。他声称为基督而活，同时又为其他目的而活着不会犯属灵的淫乱吗？有人虽为主而活，可是谁敢和这位使徒一样地说他完全为基督而活呢？但这都是基督徒当有的生活：它的来源，它的发长，它的样式，它的目的，都总结在一句话里——基督耶稣。主啊！求你接受我，我愿在此把我献上；求你使我只在你里面活着并为你而活。让我在犁和坛之间作一头牛，或耕田或献祭听主使用。我的口号是：“我都情愿。”
January
7
“For
me to live is Christ.” –Philippians 1:21
The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God
the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see
the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the
new and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers
the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we
have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for Him; to His
glory we would live, and in defence of His gospel we would die; He is the
pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our
character. Paul’s words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim
and end of his life was Christ–nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of
an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his
very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his
life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea?
Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business–are you
doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family
advantage? Do you ask, “Is that a mean reason?” For the Christian it
is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without
committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in
some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for
Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian–its
source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one
word–Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live
only in Thee and to Thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between the
plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be,
“Ready for either.”
