八福
丢弃你的衣服
经文
马可福音十46-52
46到了耶利哥；耶稣同门徒并许多人出耶利哥的时候，有一个讨饭的瞎子，是底买的儿子巴底买，坐在路旁。
47他听见是拿撒勒的耶稣，就喊着说：大卫的子孙耶稣阿！可怜我吧！
48有许多人责备他，不许他作声。他却越发大声喊着说：大卫的子孙哪，可怜我吧！
49耶稣就站住，说：叫过他来。他们就叫那瞎子，对他说：放心，起来！他叫你啦。
50瞎子就丢下衣服，跳起来，走到耶稣那里。
51耶稣说：要我为你作什么？瞎子说：拉波尼（就是夫子），我要能看见。
52耶稣说：你去吧！你的信救了你了。瞎子立刻看见了，就在路上跟随耶稣。
信息分享
昨天，我们看到精神和心灵健康的第一步是接受──我们必须放开双手，倒空手里拿着的东西，接受基督。
有人将生命定义为对环境的回应。你和我的生存是有身体上的需要的，因此我们会对物质环境作出回应──我们吃东西、吸收阳光和空气；当我们停止回应的时候，身体就会死亡。我们的灵性环境是神的国度，我们回应牠、降服于牠、从牠那里接受我们的生命时，就能够快乐和丰盛地生活。我们来看看植物如何生活？牠是以骄傲、自足、不配合、不回应的态度来生存的吗？不是，牠是借着顺服、调整、接受的态度来生活。假如植物是固执、狂傲的话，结果会怎样呢？牠会失去自己的生命，因为牠惟有与环境配合才能够生存。当牠懂得恰当地调整自己，从空气、阳光和泥土中吸收养份的时候，就能够丰盛地生长。
基督说：「虚心的人有福了」（有福或可译作快乐），他所要求的是我们必须选择放弃我们紧握着的东西，让神以他的饶恕、爱和力量来充满我们的生命。有一位有文化、有姿色的女士，在回顾了自己的生命以后叹息说：「我拥有一切，却又一无所有。」她拥有舒适和财富，但她心里却是空虚。所以，要得到快乐，我们必须先找到基督。我们如何能够找到他呢？我们要做今天经文里面的瞎子所做的事──丢弃我们的「衣服」，跑向耶稣。
「要得到快乐，我们必须先找到基督」
进深研究
太十九16-29，十六25；约十二24
1. 那年青人的困难是什么？
2. 耶稣教导生命必须以什么为先？
祈祷
亲爱的主耶稣，我还可以跑到哪里去呢？如果我从您那里跑开去，我就会远离生命，远离释放、饶恕、自由，和永恒的快乐。我要谦卑和乐意地来到您的跟前，并且高高兴兴的接受。阿们。
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?
本文英文版权属 CWR 所有，承蒙允准刊载。
背景音乐版权属 赞美之泉音乐事工 所有，承蒙允准使用。