牧者心聲
心靈貧窮的人有福了

程續戰牧師
2022 年 10 月 1 日 / 2 日


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最近聽到一位坐輪椅的姊妹對我說:「我發覺自己最近會嫉妒人,本來常陪我一起坐的組長,因為有一位比我更有需要的團友重返團契,就去陪伴他,不能陪伴我了,我因此就嫉妒這位團友。我知道這是不應該的,因他的需要真的比我大,我要向神和那團友認罪啊!」

我很欣賞姊妹的坦誠,她認真地處理自己的罪,這是好的。然而,過早認罪,卻可能會令我們錯失認識自己狀況的好機會,在未清楚自己內在的情況、未照料好自己內在的需要之前,便認罪和叫自己不應嫉妒,相信必為姊妹帶來不少心理壓力。我問她:「組長不能陪你,你有甚麼感受?」姊妹說:「我感到孤單和不開心 ⋯⋯感到自己需要別人陪伴,是一件丟臉的事 ⋯⋯」我問她,是否願意請主耶穌先安慰和醫治自己因這轉變而產生的孤單和不快?她說願意。我們隨後再談到「不嫉妒」的事,姊妹表示很想做到,但卻辦不來。我告訴她,我也有很多想做的好事,但卻無能為力。然而,這不等於無希望,我們可以向主耶穌求轉化的恩典,雖然我們不能,但在主凡事都能(太十九 26),我們求恩後就耐心靜候主的轉化。姊妹同意一起禱告,禱告完了,姊妹的面容輕鬆了,感謝主照顧了她內心的需要。

姊妹的情況令我想起 Johannes Baptist Metz 所著的 Poverty of Spirit,作者透過基督的降生為人告訴我們,人性的真正本質是靈裡貧窮,他指出耶穌是完全的人,祂直接告訴我們祂自己不能作甚麼,祂需要時刻倒空自己、倚靠和順服天父(腓二 6-8),如此才可以生活和行各樣的神蹟奇事,惟有這樣,祂才能完成天父給祂一生的託付。作者也呼籲我們,要像主基督一樣,承認和接受自己是靈裡貧窮的,不要被撒但的口號迷惑,以為自己可以像神一般掌控一切,我們要認識真相——我們和耶穌一樣,並沒有任何可以在上帝面前吹噓的東西。就算要承認自己貧窮這一點,我們也需要天父幫助才能做到。

不過,耶穌曾應許我們,心靈貧窮的人有福了,因為天國正是他們的(太五 3)。當我們在天父面前承認自己的心靈貧窮,並承認自己無能為力,那就是經歷天國臨到我們的時刻了。上文提及的那位姊妹,她經歷了主的安慰和醫治,心靈因為被主耶穌照顧而感到釋懷,到了主所定的時候,相信她必能從心底做到不再嫉妒。





Pastor's Sharing

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Rev Jenny Ching

A sister on wheelchair recently said to me: "I found that lately I have been jealous of others. Our group leader who used to sit with me all the time has been sitting with a brother with greater needs than me ever since he returned to the fellowship. So, our group leader cannot accompany me anymore and I found myself getting jealous of him. I know I shouldn't as he really has greater needs than I do. I want to confess my sin to God and to the brother!"

I appreciate the sister's candidness. She has dealt with her sins seriously, which is good. However, jumping to confession too early would perhaps cause us to miss a good opportunity to know ourselves. Confessing and asking oneself not to be jealous before knowing what is really happening inside or taking care of the inner needs has probably added to the sister's psychological pressure. I asked her, "How do you feel when the group leader cannot accompany you?" She said, "I feel lonely and unhappy… I think my need for others' company is a shame…" I asked whether she was willing to ask the Lord Jesus to first comfort and heal her loneliness and unhappiness because of this change and she said yes. Then, we talked about "not being jealous." The sister said she wanted very much to do that but she could not. I told her that there are also many things that I want to do but I cannot. But we are not hopeless because we can ask the Lord Jesus for the grace of transformation. It is not possible on our own but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Having asked for grace, we can then patiently await the Lord's transformation. With the sister's consent, we prayed. The sister looked relaxed after the prayer. Thank the Lord for meeting her inner needs.

What happened to this sister made me think of the book, Poverty of Spirit by Johannes Baptist Metz. Through Christ's becoming man, the author tells us that the real nature of humanity is poverty in spirit. Jesus is a perfect man, but He made clear to us that there was nothing He could do but to always make Himself nothing, and rely and obey the Father (Philippians 2:6-8). That was how He could live and work miracles. That was how He could complete the tasks of His life entrusted to Him by the Father. The author also exhorts us to be like Christ and admit and accept that we are poor in spirit. We must not be misled by what Satan tells us and think that we can control everything like God. We need to know the truth – same as Jesus, there is nothing we can brag about before God. Even our being able to admit our poverty of spirit would require help from the Father.

Nevertheless, Jesus has promised us that blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3). When we admit our spiritual poverty before the Father and admit there is nothing we can do, that would be the time when we can experience the coming of the Heavenly Kingdom. The sister I mentioned above has experienced the Lord's comfort and healing. Her heart is relieved by the care of the Lord Jesus. I trust that at the time designated by God, she will no longer be jealous from the bottom of her heart.






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