8月17日 你在奉献上灰心吗？

你还缺少一件，要变卖你一切所有的……你还要来跟从我。（路十八22）

“他听见这话……”你听过主说严厉的话吗？若没有，可能你从未听见他的话。我们听了主说许多话，却没有听见。若是真听见，他的话会显得出奇的严厉。耶稣似乎并不在乎这人是否照他的话去行。他也没有设法去挽留他。他只说：“变卖你所有的，来跟从我。”我们的主从不乞求，不劝诱，也不笼络。他只用人从未听过的严厉话，然后就顺其自然。

我听过主说严厉的话吗？他直接对我说话时，我是否立意恭听？我是否直截地听他向我说话，而不是随意解说？这个人确实明白耶稣的话，他听见了，又衡量过，然而这些话叫他心碎。他不是侮慢地离开，乃是忧愁地离开，颓丧极了。他怀着满腔热诚来见耶稣，耶稣的话却给他一盆冷水。他的话没有带来忠诚的奉献，相反地却叫人心碎地灰心失意。耶稣没有去追他，是任他离去。主知道他的话一发出，人听见了，总有一天会结出果子。可怕的事实却是我们当中好些人，不让主的话在实际生活上结果。一旦我们决志忠于主，我不知道我们会说些什么。但有一点可以肯定，他绝不会苛责我们。

祈祷◆噢，主啊，为着这些日子以来，你赐给我们的身心健康，我感谢你。噢，主啊，求你继续赐予我们。使我们脱离一切虚假的情绪、感伤和悲哀。愿你今天以活力和喜乐来赐福我们各人。

August 17 Are You Discouraged In Devotion?

“Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast . . and come, follow Me.” Luke 18:22

“And when he heard this . . .” Have you ever heard the Master say a hard word? If you have not, I question whether you have heard Him say anything. Jesus Christ says a great deal that we listen to, but do not hear; when we do hear, His words are amazingly hard.

Jesus did not seem in the least solicitous that this man should do what He told him, He made no attempt to keep him with Him. He simply said – Sell all you have, and come, follow Me. Our Lord never pleaded, He never cajoled, He never entrapped; He simply spoke the sternest words mortal ears ever listened to, and then left it alone.

Have I ever heard Jesus say a hard word? Has He said something personally to me to which I have deliberately listened? Not something I can expound or say this and that about, but something I have heard Him say to me? This man did understand what Jesus said, he heard it and he sized up what it meant, and it broke his heart. He did not go away defiant; he went away sorrowful, thoroughly discouraged. He had come to Jesus full of the fire of earnest desire, and the word of Jesus simply froze him; instead of producing an enthusiastic devotion, it produced a heart-breaking discouragement. And Jesus did not go after him, He let him go. Our Lord knows perfectly that when once His word is heard, it will bear fruit sooner or later. The terrible thing is that some of us prevent it bearing fruit in actual life. I wonder what we will say when we do make up our minds to be devoted to Him on that particular point? One thing is certain, He will never cast anything up at us.