12月10日 献上天然生命

亚伯拉罕有两个儿子，一个是使女生的，一个是自主之妇人生的。（加四22）

保罗在加拉太书这一章中，不是讨论罪的问题，而是讨论天然与属灵二者的关系。天然的必须献上，成为属灵，否则在实际生活上，会产生很大的分歧。为什么神要命定天然生命必须被钉死？神并没有如此命定。这并不是神的命令，而是他许可的旨意。神的命令是要肉体的生命藉顺服成为属灵；因为罪，肉体的生命才必须成为祭品。

亚伯拉罕必须先献上以实玛利，才能献上以撒。不少人想在未治死肉体之先，就献属灵的祭给神。向神献属灵的祭唯一的途径，就是把身体当作活祭献上。成圣不只是脱离罪恶，乃是立志把神所救赎出来的这个自己交付神，是不惜任何代价的。

若不把天然生命献给属灵生命，那肉体生命会嘲弄神儿子在我们里面的生命，而产生一种延续的拉锯战。这是一个不受约束的属灵品性必然的后果。我们走差路，是因为执意不肯在身体、道德及心志上操练管治自己。“作孩子的时候，不受约束”。如今你必须约束自己。否则，你会毁掉整个为神而活的生命。

我们若放任肉体的生命，神就不与它同在；但当我们肯把它放逐出去，决意制服它，神就与它同在，启开活井绿洲，成就对肉体生命的一切应许。

祈祷◆愿你使这一整天，成为甘甜和喜乐的日子。愿你那随心所欲的大能，恩慈地临到我的身心灵，让我们藉此承担今天的一切事情。

December 10 The Offering Of The Natural

“Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.” Galatians 4:22

Paul is not dealing with sin in this chapter of Galatians, but with the relation of the natural to the spiritual. The natural must be turned into the spiritual by sacrifice, otherwise a tremendous divorce will be produced in the actual life. Why should God ordain the natural to be sacrificed? God did not. It is not God's order, but His permissive will. God's order was that the natural should be transformed into the spiritual by obedience; it is sin that made it necessary for the natural to be sacrificed.

Abraham had to offer up Ishmael before he offered up Isaac. Some of us are trying to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God before we have sacrificed the natural. The only way in which we can offer a spiritual sacrifice to God is by presenting our bodies a living sacrifice. Sanctification means more than deliverance from sin, it means the deliberate commitment of myself whom God has saved to God, and that I do not care what it costs.

If we do not sacrifice the natural to the spiritual, the natural life will mock at the life of the Son of God in us and produce a continual swither. This is always the result of an undisciplined spiritual nature. We go wrong because we stubbornly refuse to discipline ourselves, physically, morally or mentally. “I wasn't disciplined when I was a child.” You must discipline yourself now. If you do not, you will ruin the whole of your personal life for God.

God is not with our natural life while we pamper it; but when we put it out in the desert and resolutely keep it under, then God will be with it; and He will open up wells and oases, and fulfill all His promises for the natural.