這幾天，我們都在思考基督八福的第二福：「哀慟的人有福了！因為他們必得安慰」。昨天我們看到這句話的意思是，當我們願意經歷悲傷和哀痛的時候，神就能夠利用這些遭遇提升我們的敏銳力，從而增進我們服事的果效。

不過，我恐怕大部分基督徒──包括我自己在內──都十分害怕這真理。幾年前我提出了這真理以後，一位女士寫信給我說：「你說哀痛和悲傷，是神用來提升我們對別人的敏銳力，這讓我感到很害怕。我認為不是這樣。因為我發現哀痛和悲傷令我更關心自己多於別人，所以我不能作你所提議的禱告說：『主啊，請照您的意思把所有壓力集中在我身上；我知道您所允許的壓力都是您計劃的一部分，為要讓我成為合乎您心意的人。』」

我們必須小心，不要以人的經驗解釋聖經的真理；而相反，我們必須以聖經的真理來解釋人的經驗。聖經告訴我們，神容許壓力的臨到是有目的的；隻要我們願意接受，悲傷和哀痛會在我們的生命中產生很大的好處。問題是，每當聖經的原則好像用不上的時候，不要質疑那個原則，而應該質疑你自己有沒有開放的接受牠，有沒有以神指示的方式去應用牠。與神爭論是沒理由的，因為神不會錯。

We are meditating on the second of Christ's Beatitudes: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Yesterday we saw that the meaning of this statement is that when we are willing to experience sorrow and grief, then God is able to use these encounters to sensitise our spirits and make our ministry to others more effective and more fruitful.

I am afraid, however, that the majority of Christians, myself included, greatly fear this truth. Some years ago after I had expressed this same truth a woman wrote to me thus: "I am terribly afraid of what you said concerning grief and sorrow being the means in God's hands of deepening our sensitivity to others. I have not found this to be so. I find that grief and sorrow make me more concerned about myself than about others. Thus I cannot pray the prayer you suggested: 'Lord, put all the pressure on me You want, I know that the pressure You permit is all part of Your purpose - to make me the kind of person You want me to be."

We must always be careful that we do not interpret Biblical truth by human experiences; we must interpret human experiences by Biblical truth. Scripture tells us that God permits pressure for a purpose, and that sorrow and grief will produce tremendous benefits in our lives - providing we let them. There's the rub! Whenever Biblical principles don't seem to work for us, then don't question the principle - question whether or not you are open to it, and whether you are applying it in the way God directs. There is very little point in arguing with God - He's always right.