本帖最后由 教会写手 于 2021-8-6 08:08 编辑
象棋大师 “但我们照他的应许,盼望新天新地,有义居在其中。”(彼后3:13)
上高中时,我以自己会下国际象棋而自豪。我加入了象棋俱乐部。午餐时间我和其它“棋迷”们坐在一张桌子旁聚精会神地读着诸如《国际象棋开局教程》之类的书。我钻研棋技,参加比赛,并赢得得大部份的比赛。后来我把这个爱好搁置了20年。20年后,我遇到一位真正优秀的棋手,他从高中起就一直着力提升他的棋艺。与他下棋我体会到与大师对弈的滋味——虽然我爱怎么走(棋步)就怎么走,但,没有一“步”能真正制服对方。大师高超的技艺注定了——我的所有“策略”最终都逃不出他设的“套子”。
这对我们来说或许是一幅属灵的图画。神任凭我们悖逆他最初的计划。但,神恰恰藉着我们的悖逆,“成就”了他的终极目标(罗8:21,彼后3:13,启21:1)这幅图画改变了我看待好事物和坏事物的视角。好事物,比如健康,才能,和金钱,我们可以献给神(属于活祭)。而坏事物,比如残疾、贫穷、家庭不和谐、失败,可以藉着神的“救赎”,成为驱使我们亲近神的工具。
我们拥有“大师”(神),得胜是确定的——不论何时,也不论人生的“棋盘”看起来如何。
教会写手 译
We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.— 2 Peter 3:13
In high school I took pride in my ability to play chess. I joined the chess club, and during lunch hour I could be found sitting at a table with other nerds, poring over books with titles like Classic King Pawn Openings. I studied techniques, won most of my matches, and put the game aside for 20 years. Then I met a truly fine chess player who had been perfecting his skills long since high school, and I learned what it is like to play against a master. Although I had complete freedom to make any move I wished, none of my strategies mattered very much. His superior skill guaranteed that my purposes inevitably ended up serving his own.
Perhaps there is a spiritual picture for us here. God grants us freedom to rebel against His original design, but even as we do so we end up serving His eventual goal of restoration (Rom. 8:21; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 21:1). This transformed the way I view both good and bad things. Good things—such as health, talent, and money—I can present to God as offerings to serve His purposes. And bad things—disability, poverty, family dysfunction, failure—can be “redeemed” as the very instruments that drive me to God.
With the Grand Master, victory is assured, no matter how the board of life may look at any given moment.
By: Philip Yancey
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