Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine
on you. – Ephesians 5:14
In a recent gameshow televised by Mediacorp, celebrities had to learn
the Cuban Salsa to complete a challenge. Each pair of celebrities not
only had to learn to move their feet and swivel their hips to the beat of
the music, they had to remember when to move in response to their
partner. It was both exhilarating and tense as any mistimed step or a
forgotten move could send their partner spinning into a table or
crashing to the ground.
Similarly, the Methodist academic Chia describes the need for human
response to prevenient grace as a dance with God.21 Prevenient grace
creates in us both an awareness of our need for salvation as well as the
power to choose to respond to God. “It is important to emphasize that
prevenient grace is not sufficient for salvation. If a person chooses to
ignore or suppress this grace, he will experience hardness of heart so
that these stirrings of God will go unheeded.”22 Harper adds, “It
[prevenient grace] is real light, light enough to see the hand of God and
to reach for it.”23 God has taken the first step in this divine dance. Are
we willing to respond?
你这睡着的人,醒过来吧!要从死人中复活,基督要光照你
了! 《以弗所书》5:14
在最近由新媒体电视台播放的比赛节目中,名星不得不学习古
巴莎莎队以完成挑战。每对名星不仅要学习移动脚步并且随着
音乐节拍旋转他们的臀部到点,他们还必须记住何时回应伙伴
而移动。真是既令人振奋又紧张,因为任何不合时宜的步骤或
被遗忘的举动可能会让他们的伙伴旋转到桌子上或撞到地面。
同样,卫理公会的学者谢正金博士形容人类对预设恩典的回应
犹如与上帝共舞。预设恩典在我们里面造成了我们对救恩需要
的认识,以及选择回应上帝的能力。 “重要的是要强调,仅是
预设的恩典不足以获得救恩。如果一个人选择忽视或压制这种
恩典,他将体会到心坚硬,以至于上帝所激起的这些意愿将被
忽略。哈珀补充说,预设的恩典是真正的亮光,这亮光足以让
我们看见上帝的恩手并伸手回应。上帝在这个神圣的舞蹈中迈
出了第一步,我们是否愿意回应?
Reflection 反思
“How can we help awaken someone who does not know Jesus to
recognize God’s prevenient grace at work in their lives?”24
我们怎样帮助某些还不认识耶稣的人,唤醒他们认出预设的恩
典已在他们的生命中动工?
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