八福
丟棄你的衣服
經文
馬可福音十46-52
46到了耶利哥；耶穌同門徒並許多人出耶利哥的時候，有一個討飯的瞎子，是底買的兒子巴底買，坐在路旁。
47他聽見是拿撒勒的耶穌，就喊著說：大衛的子孫耶穌阿！可憐我吧！
48有許多人責備他，不許他作聲。他卻越發大聲喊著說：大衛的子孫哪，可憐我吧！
49耶穌就站住，說：叫過他來。他們就叫那瞎子，對他說：放心，起來！他叫你啦。
50瞎子就丟下衣服，跳起來，走到耶穌那裡。
51耶穌說：要我為你作什麼？瞎子說：拉波尼（就是夫子），我要能看見。
52耶穌說：你去吧！你的信救了你了。瞎子立刻看見了，就在路上跟隨耶穌。
信息分享
昨天，我們看到精神和心靈健康的第一步是接受──我們必須放開雙手，倒空手裡拿著的東西，接受基督。
有人將生命定義為對環境的回應。你和我的生存是有身體上的需要的，因此我們會對物質環境作出回應──我們吃東西、吸收陽光和空氣；當我們停止回應的時候，身體就會死亡。我們的靈性環境是神的國度，我們回應牠、降服於牠、從牠那裡接受我們的生命時，就能夠快樂和豐盛地生活。我們來看看植物如何生活？牠是以驕傲、自足、不配合、不回應的態度來生存的嗎？不是，牠是藉著順服、調整、接受的態度來生活。假如植物是固執、狂傲的話，結果會怎樣呢？牠會失去自己的生命，因為牠惟有與環境配合才能夠生存。當牠懂得恰當地調整自己，從空氣、陽光和泥土中吸收養份的時候，就能夠豐盛地生長。
基督說：「虛心的人有福了」（有福或可譯作快樂），他所要求的是我們必須選擇放棄我們緊握著的東西，讓神以他的饒恕、愛和力量來充滿我們的生命。有一位有文化、有姿色的女士，在回顧了自己的生命以後嘆息說：「我擁有一切，卻又一無所有。」她擁有舒適和財富，但她心裡卻是空虛。所以，要得到快樂，我們必須先找到基督。我們如何能夠找到他呢？我們要做今天經文裡面的瞎子所做的事──丟棄我們的「衣服」，跑向耶穌。
「要得到快樂，我們必須先找到基督」
進深研究
太十九16-29，十六25；約十二24
1. 那年青人的困難是什麼？
2. 耶穌教導生命必須以什麼為先？
祈禱
親愛的主耶穌，我還可以跑到哪裡去呢？如果我從您那裡跑開去，我就會遠離生命，遠離釋放、饒恕、自由，和永恆的快樂。我要謙卑和樂意地來到您的跟前，並且高高興興的接受。阿們。
The Beatitudes
Flinging away your garment
Bible reading:
Mark 10:46-52
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means "son of Timaeus"), was sitting by the roadside begging.
47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
49 Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you."
50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."
52 "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Message
We are seeing that the first step to mental and spiritual health is receptivity - we must be willing to empty our hands of whatever we are holding and receive Christ.
Life has been defined as response to environment. You and I live physically when we respond to our physical environment - we take in food, light and air. When response is shut off, we die physically. Our spiritual environment is the kingdom of God. When we respond to it, surrender to it, receive our very life from it - then we live happily and abundantly. Take a plant - how does it live? By being proud, self-sufficient, unrelated and unresponsive? No, it lives by surrendering, adjusting, receiving. Suppose a plant tried to live by asserting itself, by trying to "lord" it over the other plants - what would be the result? It would lose its life, for it lives only as it responds to its environment. When it is properly adjusted, it takes in from the air, sun and soil and lives abundantly.
The plain truth of what Christ is saying, then, in the words, "Blessed [or happy] are the poor in spirit", is that we must choose to give up whatever we are holding and allow Him to fill our lives with His forgiveness, love and power. A highly cultured and beautiful woman, after reviewing her life, said with a sigh: "I have everything - and nothing." Everything in the way of comfort and riches - yet she was empty in heart. To find happiness, we must find Christ. And how do we find Him? We do what the blind man did in the passage today - fling away our "garment" and run to Jesus.
"To find happiness, we must find Christ"
Prayer
Blessed Lord Jesus, where else can I run? If I run from You, I shall run away from life, from release, from forgiveness, from freedom and from eternal happiness. So I come, humbly, willingly - and receive. Amen.
Further study
Matthew 19:16-29; 16:25
John 12:24
1. What was the young man's problem?
2. What did Jesus teach must come before life?
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