我們的基本目的
最成功的投資策略是逢低買進、逢高賣出。您想要買一張永不下跌的股票，並且保證價值永遠上漲？神的國保證做到這一點。在歷史的跨度中，即使是最偉大的人類帝國也只是稍縱即逝。神的國不僅存留到永遠，而且會一直擴張，正如以賽亞書九章7節所言：「祂的政權與平安必加增無窮。」
既然如此，為何有這麼多基督徒更致力於短暫的追求呢？顯然這是缺乏異象、智慧與瞭解。有些人對工作或專業的投入，遮蔽了對主與先求祂的國之誡命的委身。許多人會抗議說他們必須工作，以供養自己和家庭，但那並不與先求祂的國衝突，也不與工作卓越衝突。答案不是減少工作時間，而是把工作變成敬拜，所做的一切就好像是為主做的。
我們應當將我們的工作和其他責任當作主讓我們耕種的園子，正如多數工作有著許多試煉，我們應當視其為在聖靈的果子─和平、忍耐、仁愛等成長的機會。我們定意不浪費任何的試煉，乃是使用試煉來訓練幫助我們在主裡成長。我們應當將我一起工作的人，視為主放在我們生命中成為見證並服事的對象。
當我們看創世記，人是為著四個基本目的而受造。第一，也是最重要的，就是與神同行並與祂相交，這同樣應當成為我們的每日追求。祂絕不只想要我們每天花一點時間禱告或讀經，祂創造我們乃是為著愉悅與相交。我們蒙召是為了常在祂裡面，而祂也常在我們裡面，並且與祂同行成為我們所做所行的一部份。
因為這是我們受造最重要的原因，決定我們此生是否成功的第一要素即是我們與主有多親近。主說最重要的誡命就是愛神，所以我們生命中的最高優先順序，應當是在我們對祂的愛中成長。
人受造的第二目的就是耕種園子；生產東西是我們天生的基本部分，這即是何以許多人會致力於栽種植物，看到它們成長便得到許多滿足。然而，耕種屬靈事物才更令人滿足、更為重要。
我們應當將每個我們不得不去的地方，視為神賜給我們耕種、帶來生命的禾場。正如雅各書五章7節說：「農夫忍耐等候地裡寶貴的出產，直到得了秋雨春雨。」正如農夫必須有耐心在合適的時間撒種，我們也必須耐心等候在對的時間撒出真理的種子，而不是迫使種子在不合適的地方成長。
耕種所需要的不單是撒種而已，首先土地必須預備好。如果我們像農夫一樣有耐心知道何時撒種，一些我們可以說和可以做的事情，將漸漸引起人的興趣而打開他們的心。忍耐/耐心是屬靈的果子，因此沒有耐心做成的事是無法期待結出屬神的果子。我們必須耐心等候在對的時間撒種，然後在對的時間澆灌…等。
正如主在撒種的比喻所教導的，我們也必須觀看代表魔鬼的飛鳥是如何企圖偷走種子。我們必須禱告我們的園子有保護，有時則要預備反擊魔鬼對我們所耕種之物的攻擊，總是帶著耐心來做這些事。
然後，我們需要不讓野草叢生，也就是「世上的思慮」。在腓立比書四章6節說：「應當一無掛慮，只要凡事藉著禱告、祈求，和感謝，將你們所要的告訴神。」掛慮是信心的相反，信心是聖靈果子的養分，因此掛慮會餓死我們所耕種的，使其無法成長。所以，當我們看見懼怕、掛慮或不和在攻擊我們的園子，我們必須預備反擊，我們的武器是神的平安、在主裡的信心，還有神的話。如果我們是帶著掛慮這樣做，很可能會使我們反應過度，並損害我們所耕種之物。
正如我們在腓立比書四章6節所讀到的，我們是以對神的禱告和感謝來對抗掛慮。在詩篇100篇說我們是以感恩進入神的門，因此成為不斷感恩的人是讓我們常在主同在中的方式。常在主的同在中是不可能沒有滿足的喜樂，正如詩篇十六篇11節所說：「在袮面前（同在）有滿足的喜樂」。尼希米記八章10節也說：「靠耶和華而得的喜樂是你們的力量。」當世界的恐懼和掛慮持續上升，沒有比主的喜樂和平安更能與之對抗的。
(摘自喬納word for the week, Week 3, 2021)
Our Basic Purpose
The most successful investment strategy is buy low, sell high. Would you like to buy a stock that could not go down, and is guaranteed to keep increasing in value forever? The kingdom of God is guaranteed to do this. Even the greatest empires of men have been short-lived when considered in the span of history. The kingdom of God will not only last forever, it will keep expanding forever as we are told in Isaiah 9:7: “There will be no end to the increase of His kingdom, or of peace.”
So why are so many Christians more devoted to temporal pursuits? It is an obvious lack of vision, wisdom, and understanding. Some have let their devotion to their jobs or professions eclipse their devotion to the Lord and His commandment to seek His kingdom first. Many would protest that they must work to provide for themselves and their families, but that is not in conflict with seeking the kingdom first. Neither is trying to do our jobs with excellence. The answer is not to spend less time at work, but to turn work into worship, doing all that we do as unto The Lord.
We should see our jobs and all other responsibilities as gardens that The Lord has put us in to cultivate. As most jobs have many trials, we should see them all as opportunities to grow in the fruit of the Spirit—in peace, patience, love, etc.—resolving not to waste any trial but to use it as discipline to help us grow in The Lord. We should see the people we work with as those The Lord has put in our life to be a witness to and serve.
Man was created for four basic purposes as we see in Genesis. The first, and most important, was to walk with God and have fellowship with Him. This should likewise be our main pursuit every day. He does not just want to be someone we spend a little time praying to or studying about each day, but He created us for His pleasure and fellowship. We are called to abide in Him as He abides in us and walks with us to be a part of all that we do.
Because this is the most important reason we were created, the number one factor that determines if we are successful in this life is how close to Him we have lived. The Lord said that the most important commandment was to love God, so to grow in our love for Him should be our highest priority in life.
The next thing man was created for was to cultivate the garden. Growing things is a basic part of our nature, which is why so many are devoted to growing plants, and get so much satisfaction from seeing them grow. However, cultivating the spiritual is even more fulfilling and more important.
We should see every place we are compelled to spend time as fields we have been given to cultivate and bring forth life. As we are told in James 5:7, “The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.” As a farmer must be patient to sow the seed at the proper time, we too must be patient to wait for the right time to sow seeds of truth, not forcing them where they do not fit.
Cultivation requires more than just sowing the seed. First the ground must be prepared for it. There are things we can say and do that will gradually capture people’s interest and open their hearts if we, like the farmer, are patient with how we do it. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, so things done in impatience cannot be expected to bear His fruit. With patience we must wait for the right time to sow the seed, and then the right time to water them, etc.
As The Lord taught in the Parable of the Sower, we must also watch for how the birds, which He said represented the devil, will try to steal the seed. We must pray over our gardens for protection, and at times be ready to counter the attacks of the devil on what we are cultivating, as always with patience.
Then we need to keep the weeds out, the “cares and worries” of this world that would choke the seed. We are told in Philippians 4:6 to: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Anxiety is the opposite of faith. Faith is the nutrition of the fruit of the Spirit, and therefore anxiety can starve what we are cultivating to prevent its growth. So, when we see fear, anxiety, or discord attack our garden we must be ready to counter this with the peace of God, faith in Him, and words that promote these. If we do this with anxiety, it will likely cause us to overreact and also cause damage to what we have been cultivating.
As we read in Philippians 4:6, we counter anxiety with prayer and thanksgiving to God. When we are being thankful to God it is hard to be fearful or anxious. We are told in Psalm 100 that we enter The Lord’s gates with thanksgiving, so to be a continually thankful person is how we abide in His presence. As we are told in Psalm 16:11 in His presence is fullness of joy. It is not possible to abide in the presence of The Lord and not be full of joy. As we are told in Nehemiah 8:10, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” With all of the fear and anxiety growing in the world as it is, nothing counters this more than the joy and peace of the Lord.
