最棒的基督徒生命35

親近基督

我們最近一直在談最棒基督徒生命的元素或特質；當然，這是從我的觀點來談，其他人可能會有不同的看法。那正是基督身體的榮美─我們都只『知道一部份』，所以要得著完整的圖畫，我們必須將他人的部分拼湊在一起。還有另一個偉大基督徒生命的特質：謙卑敞開與受教，好讓我們可以向他人學習。

那並不表示您不需要擁有健全的聖經根基，或當別人可能在某些事上有著不同的信念，您就妥協自己的信念。您需要謙卑才能領悟，若沒有考慮到別人所擁有的部分，您並非全知全能或擁有完整的圖畫。

我曾在過去的文章中提到，我認為最偉大的基督徒是那些最愛主，全心尋求祂並瞭解祂道路的人。在研讀歷史時我認識一個代表性人物，那便是德國的親岑多夫伯爵。

親岑多夫生命最初的記述是在他八歲的時候，入侵德國的瑞典士兵闖入他家，打開門進到他正在禱告的房間。他們對親岑多夫禱告與認罪的深度震驚不已，以致於他們退出房間，甚至離開房子。

親岑多夫顯然非常富有，可能是當時其中一個最有錢的人，歷史學家卻稱他為『對主說「好」的年輕少年官』，因為他將所有財富獻上為宣揚福音所用。常被稱為『近代宣教士之父』的威廉•克理（William Carey）拒絕此稱號，他說親岑多夫才是真正的近代宣教士之父，他個人也深受他的啟發。

一些認識親岑多夫的偉大基督徒，分享許多關於他傑出的軼事，其中一個引人注目的特質，甚至來自他很早期的故事，就是他對主的愛，還有他與來自不同教派與運動之基督徒的友情。他最好的一個朋友是天主教的主教，同時他也有一些非常反天主教的朋友，親岑多夫拒絕與他人的關係建立在教會政治的基礎上，乃是基於他們對救主的愛與委身，他稱此為『根基』或基本的基督教教義。

親岑多夫為著一些關係飽受批評，他卻從沒有拋棄他們，他想成為所有他認為是基督真正朋友的朋友。儘管他非常富有，他也花最多時間與難民和下層階級的人在一起，他被那些親近基督的人吸引，不管他們生命外在的問題如何。而我認為，那也是最棒基督徒生命的另一個特質。

(摘自喬納 word for the week, Week35, 2015)


Drawing Near to Christ- The Greatest Christian Life, Part 35  Week 35, 2015 
Rick Joyner 

We have been addressing the elements or characteristics that make up the greatest Christian life. Of course, this is from my perspective, and others may have different ones. That is the beauty of the body of Christ—we all “know in part,” so to get the whole picture, we must put what we have together with what others have. I would count that as another characteristic of a great Christian life—the humility to be open and teachable so we can learn from others.   

It does not mean you do not a have sound biblical foundation, or that you compromise your convictions when you relate to others who may have other persuasions on some things. It is the humility to realize that you do not know it all, or have the whole picture without considering the parts others have.

I have lain out in previous articles how I think the greatest Christians are those who love the Lord the most and pursue Him and the understanding of His ways with a whole heart. One of the greatest of these that I got to know by studying history was Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf of Germany.

One of the first accounts of Zinzendorf’s life was when he was eight years old. Invading Swedish soldiers broke into his house and opened the door to the room where he was praying. They were so taken aback by the depth and conviction of Zinzendorf’s prayer that they backed out of the room and then out of the house. 

Zinzendorf was obviously very wealthy, possibly one of the wealthiest of his time. Yet historians call him “the rich young ruler who said ‘yes’” because he gave his entire fortune to promoting the gospel. William Carey, who is often called “the father of modern missions,” rejected that and said that Zinzendorf was the true father of modern missions and had been his own inspiration.

There are many remarkable anecdotes about Zinzendorf that other great Christians have shared who knew him. One characteristic that stands out even from the earliest stories about him was his personal love for the Lord, and then his friendship with Christians from diverse denominations and movements. One of his best friends was a Catholic bishop. He had others who were part of movements that were very anti-Catholic. Zinzendorf simply refused to base his relationship to others on church politics, but rather by their love and devotion to the Savior and what he called “the basics,” or basic Christian doctrines.

Zinzendorf took a lot of heat for some of his relationships, but he never abandoned them. He wanted to be the friend of all who he considered to be true friends of Christ. He also, though being very wealthy, spent most of his time with refugees and others from the lower classes. He was drawn to those who were drawing near to Christ regardless of the external issues of their life. That, I think, is another characteristic of a great Christian life.