He Is For You; He Knows You 祂為你爭戰; 祂為你而存在
At our last all-school chapel we touched on part two of our school theme: It is Good to Follow Jesus. Our MAK staff are passionate about following Christ. For many of us, that’s why we teach at a Christian school – so we can openly share what is good about following Him. On Friday we discussed two of these reasons.
上禮拜在我們的聯合敬拜中，我們教導了校園主題的第二部分：跟隨耶穌真好！MAK的老師們都有跟隨耶穌的熱情。對我們許多人來說，這是我們在基督教學校教書的緣由，因此我們可以大方地分享跟隨耶穌的好處是什麼。上星期五我們討論了其中的兩個原因。
First, Jesus is for us. Sometimes it’s easy to doubt this, especially when things aren’t going too well. How can we say God is for us when a close friend gets terribly sick? Or when our family is going through a really rough experience that is outside of our control? Or when He gives us instruction through the Bible that doesn’t seem to be what we desire? How can such a God be for us when these things are happening to us?
首先，耶穌是為我們而存在的。有時，在事情發展不那麼順利時，我們特別容易對此產生懷疑。當我們一個好朋友患重病時，我們如何告訴他：「耶穌為我們而存在」？或者，當我們的家人正經歷一段超乎我們掌控的艱難經歷時？也有可能是當耶穌透過聖經指引我們方向，但那似乎不是我們希望的？這些事情發生在我們身上時，我們如何能將「上帝為我們存在」這句話說出口？
What I often return to in the midst of such questions is Jesus’ death for us. Here is a God that stated that what he had for us was so crucial, so beautiful, and so good that He was willing to die so that we could understand and possess it. That’s an incredible thing. When I’m in the midst of suffering or anguish, I know that He experienced the same. When I’m in the midst of confusion about what He asks me to do, I am assured that He died in part to communicate the validity of His words. When someone dies on our behalf, it’s worth listening! He is for us.
「耶穌為我們而死」使我常常回到這些問題之中。上帝所擁有的對我們而言是如此重要、如此美麗以及如此美好。祂願意為我們而死，我們才能理解並擁有祂。這是一件不可思議的事情。當我在痛苦或受煎熬時，我知道祂也有相同的經歷。當我對於上帝要求我做的事情有疑惑時，我確信祂的受死在某種程度上傳達了祂話語的效力。當某人為我們而死，他的話是值得一聽的。祂為我們而存在！
Second, it’s good to follow Jesus because He knows us. In chapel, MAK students read bits of Psalm 139 (中文) to each other. If you haven’t read that passage, I strongly encourage it. It’s a wonderful account of the depth of God’s knowledge of and love for us. Consider these words:
再者，因為耶穌了解我們所以跟隨祂是美好的。在敬拜中，MAK學生彼此念了一些詩篇一百三十九篇的經文。如果你還沒有唸過這段，我強烈鼓勵你唸唸看，這裡精彩地描述了神對我們的了解與愛的深度。請看：
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
耶和華，祢已經鑒察我，認識我，
我坐下，我起來，祢都曉得; 祢從遠處知道我的意念。
我行路，我躺臥，祢都細察; 你也深知我一切所行的。
耶和華啊，我舌頭上的話，祢沒有一句不知道的。
祢在我前後環繞我，按手在我身上，
這樣的知識奇妙，是我不能測的; 至高，是我不能及的。
What is most profound to me in all of this is the incredible, divine tension between these two statements about Jesus’ disposition toward us. When we truly get to know another person, inside and out, we often are struck with the depth of our own rough edges. When I claim that ‘God knows me,’ I’m not only claiming that he knows all my gifts and hidden joys but that he also knows the extent of my evil and ungrateful thoughts, my selfish longings, my bitter rampages, and my rock hard, stubborn impulses. But yet, when we claim Him as our Lord, putting Him in control, admitting that He knows the way better than we do, He knows us and is for us, eternally.
對我而言，最奧妙的是在這兩者中那難以置信又超凡的張力。當我們真的完全了解一個人的內在與外在時，我們通常會對自己不合適之處留下深刻的印象。當我說：「上帝了解我」時，是表示祂不僅僅知道我所有的恩賜與看不見的喜樂，同時祂也知道我內心邪惡的念頭、自私的渴望、苦痛、暴怒以及頑固的衝動。不過，當我們稱祂是我們的主，讓祂主宰並承認「祂知道該怎麼做」時，祂就能了解我們並且為我們而存在。
The God of the Universe knows me and is for me. That is incredible. We have hints of that kind of love. Many of our parents know us, deeply, and despite that are for us, incredibly. Many of us who are parents, or aunts, or uncles, or grandparents also taste this depth of love in our own hearts. But with God it’s much greater. And that makes it so, so good to follow Him.
創造宇宙的神了解我並為我而存在，這是一件多麽不可思議的事情。我們也有一點像那樣的愛。我們的父母深深地了解我們，也為我們存在。我們可能是某人的家長、阿姨、叔叔或者是祖父母，在我們內心，我們也能知曉那種愛的深度有多深。但是上帝的愛比我們的愛更深、更廣，祂的愛讓我們跟隨祂成為一件美好的事。