上帝的爱让我们成为祂的儿女，带给我们渴望的归属感。

The Lord who made you and helps you says: “Do not be afraid . . . my chosen one.” Isaiah 44:2 NLT 

造做你……并要帮助你的耶和华如此说：“我所拣选的……不要害怕！”-以赛亚书44章2节

I’d been out late the night before, just as I was every Saturday night. Just twenty years old, I was running from God as fast as I could. But suddenly, strangely, I felt compelled to attend the church my dad pastored. I put on my faded jeans, well-worn T-shirt, and unlaced high-tops and drove across town.

年轻时，我习惯在星期六深夜时还在外面溜达。当时我年仅二十，只想尽速逃离上帝。但有一天，我突然极其渴望去我父亲牧养的教会参加崇拜。我穿上褪色的牛仔裤、破旧的衬衫和解开鞋带的高帮鞋，随即驾车前往。

I don’t recall the sermon Dad preached that day, but I can’t forget how delighted he was to see me. With his arm over my shoulder, he introduced me to everyone he saw. “This is my son!” he proudly declared. His joy became a picture of God’s love that has stuck with me all these decades.

我已经不记得父亲当天讲道的内容了，然而我却不曾忘记当他见到我时，那喜出望外的模样。他把手臂搭在我的肩上，热切地让大家认识我，并自豪地说：“这是我儿子！”他的喜乐反映出上帝的慈爱，让我这数十年来仍难以忘怀。

The imagery of God as loving Father occurs throughout the Bible. In Isaiah 44, the prophet interrupts a series of warnings to proclaim God’s message of family love. “Dear Israel, my chosen one,” he said. “I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children” (vv. 2–3 nlt). Isaiah noted how the response of those descendants would demonstrate family pride. “Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord,’” he wrote. “Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands” (v. 5 nlt).

上帝慈爱天父的形象贯穿了整本圣经。在以赛亚书44章，先知中断了一连串严厉的警告，转而传讲上帝关爱那些属于祂的子民：“我的仆人雅各、我所拣选的……我要将我的灵浇灌你的后裔，将我的福浇灌你的子孙”（2-3节）。以赛亚记载了这群属于上帝的百姓如何自豪地回应上帝，他写道：“这个要说‘我是属耶和华的’；……又一个要亲手写‘归耶和华的’。”（5节）

Wayward Israel belonged to God, just as I belonged to my adoptive father. Nothing I could do would ever make him lose his love for me. He gave me a glimpse of our heavenly Father’s love for us.

悖逆的以色列百姓是属于上帝的，如同我是属于我的养父。无论我做了什么，都不曾让我父亲停止爱我。我父亲让我窥见天父对祂儿女的爱。

天父，虽然我们的家庭都不完美，谢谢祢仍然爱我们，并向我们显明何为真实的爱。

Isaiah 44:1-5   NIV

44 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. 2 This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. 4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. 5 Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and will take the name Israel.

以赛亚书 44:1-5 

44 “我的仆人雅各，我所拣选的以色列啊，现在你当听！ 2 造做你，又从你出胎造就你，并要帮助你的耶和华如此说：‘我的仆人雅各，我所拣选的耶书仑哪，不要害怕！ 3 因为我要将水浇灌口渴的人，将河浇灌干旱之地，我要将我的灵浇灌你的后裔，将我的福浇灌你的子孙。 4 他们要发生在草中，像溪水旁的柳树。 5 这个要说“我是属耶和华的”，那个要以雅各的名自称，又一个要亲手写“归耶和华的”，并自称为以色列。’

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

In addition to the imagery found in Isaiah 44, we see other examples in Scripture of God as our Father. In the Old Testament, God is called the Father of Israel, not on a personal basis but as a nation. When God delivered the nation from slavery in Egypt, God declared that Israel is His “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22). Moses reminded the Jews about to enter the Promised Land that Yahweh the Lord is their Father (Deuteronomy 32:6). God Himself said He is “Israel’s father” (Jeremiah 31:9). Because of their sins, Isaiah warned that the nation would go into exile (Isaiah 5:13). Then crying to Yahweh to restore them to the Promised Land, the Israelites said, “Surely you are still our Father!” (63:16 nlt).

除了以赛亚书第44章中的生动描绘，在圣经其他的经文也把上帝描述为我们的父。在旧约中，上帝常被称为以色列的父，这以色列不是指个人，而是指整个国家。当上帝把以色列民从埃及为奴之地拯救出来时，就宣称以色列是祂的“长子”（出埃及记4章22节）；摩西提醒将要进入应许之地的犹太人，不要忘记耶和华是他们的父（申命记32章6节）；上帝也自称为“以色列的父”（耶利米书31章9节）；以赛亚警告以色列人说，因为他们的罪，致使他们将被仇敌掳掠（以赛亚书5章13节）。过后，以色列民会向上帝呼求，让他们回归应许之地，并向上帝说：“祢是我们的父！”（63章16节）

In the New Testament, the Christian faith is a love relationship couched in the most basic of all human relationships—a father and child. Those who believe in Jesus are called children of God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1). The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–31 is a picture of our loving and forgiving heavenly Father welcoming His wayward children into His arms.

新约清楚表明，基督信仰乃是爱的关系，是所有人际关系中最基本的关系，就是父亲和儿女，而相信耶稣的人都被称为上帝的儿女（约翰福音1章12节；约翰一书3章1节）。在路加福音15章11-31节浪子的比喻中所描绘的情景，就是慈爱和宽容的天父正张开双臂，迎接所有悖逆的儿女回转归向祂。

Indeed He is “still our Father!” Have you come home to your Father?

上帝是我们的父，你是否已回到天父的身边呢？

整理：于姊妹