Sharing and living out our faith is the best way to leave a legacy.

我收到一则简讯，是女儿跟我要我外婆的薄荷冰淇淋馅饼食谱。当我一边从年代久远的食谱盒中翻找黄色小卡片时，我注意到外婆独特的笔迹，还有母亲随手写下的潦草小字。这时我突然想到，随着女儿的要求，这道薄荷冰淇淋馅饼已经在我们家传到第四代了。

I wondered, What other family heirlooms might be handed down generation to generation? What about choices regarding faith? Besides the pie, would the faith of my grandmother—and my own—play out in the lives of my daughter and her offspring?

我在想，还有什么其他的传家宝可以代代相传呢？信仰的抉择可否传承呢？除了冰淇淋馅饼之外，外婆和我的信仰是否也能在我女儿和她儿孙的生命中，发挥举足轻重的影响力呢？

In Psalm 79, the psalmist bemoans a wayward Israel, which has lost its faith moorings. He begs God to rescue His people from the ungodly and to restore Jerusalem to safety. This done, he promises a restored—and ongoing—commitment to God’s ways. “Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise” (v. 13).

在诗篇79篇，诗人哀叹道，刚愎任性的以色列人已失去他们信仰的根基。诗人恳求上帝拯救祂的百姓，脱离不敬畏上帝的邻邦，重建耶路撒冷，并使这城得着平安。过后，诗人向上帝承诺，他们这些上帝的子民必重新归向祂，并持守上帝的教导。“这样，祢的民、祢草场的羊要称谢祢，直到永远；要述说赞美祢的话，直到万代！”（13节）

I eagerly shared the recipe, knowing my grandmother’s dessert legacy would enjoy a new layer in our family. And I prayed sincerely for the most lasting hand-me-down of all: the influence of our family’s faith on one generation to the next.

我迫不及待地与女儿分享这份食谱，因为知道这么一来，我外婆留下的食谱又传到新的一代了。我也诚心祷告，祈盼基督信仰能影响我们家世世代代，这才是最值得代代相传的传家宝啊！

Lord, I pray that we would be mindful about how we can leave a legacy for You in the lives that we touch every day.

Psalm 79:8-13 NIV

79 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
    may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
    for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior,
    for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
    for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”

Before our eyes, make known among the nations
    that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
    with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
    the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
    will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
    we will proclaim your praise.

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

The prayer of Psalm 79 for God to restore His people was voiced in the context of great loss—perhaps when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 587 . Although the psalmist recognized that much of Israel’s suffering was caused by their sin, he pleaded for God to restore anyway—because of how it would look to unbelieving nations if Israel seemed abandoned by Him.

在诗篇79篇，诗人求上帝复兴祂的百姓，因那时以色列民面对空前的挫败，也许是正处于公元前587年，耶路撒冷遭巴比伦毁灭之时。尽管诗人明白，以色列民之所以多受苦难，大都是源自于他们的罪，但他仍恳求上帝，无论如何都要复兴他们，因为如果以色列民看似被上帝离弃了，就会影响到外邦人对上帝的看法。

This idea—that God can be expected to be faithful even when His people are not—is pervasive throughout Scripture. Prayers often plead with God to consider that even if suffering seems deserved, human suffering and death does not bring Him glory the same way His gracious restoration does (see Psalm 30:9). And God confirmed this truth, pleading with His people to return to Him and assuring them that because He is “God, and not a man” (Hosea 11:9), He could be trusted to be merciful.

整本圣经贯穿着一个观念，那就是即使上帝的百姓不忠，但上帝仍然信实可靠。圣经中有许多祷词是恳求上帝多加考虑，虽然人们的受苦看是罪有应得，但人的痛苦和死亡，并不像上帝施恩复兴百姓那样使祂得荣耀（参阅诗篇30篇9节）。上帝也证实的确如此，正如祂呼吁自己的百姓回转归向祂，并告诉百姓祂是满有慈爱的，因为祂是“上帝，并非世人”（何西阿书11章9节）。

As dark as our sin can be, God’s grace is deeper still. Do you feel unworthy of God’s forgiveness? Turn to Him anyway, and experience the joy of new life (Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Our sin does not prevent God from bringing hope, restoration, and an ongoing legacy of faith.

无论我们的罪有多么深重，上帝的恩典更加深厚。你是否感到自己不配得上帝的赦免？无论如何，我们都当归向祂，如此就能体验新生命的喜乐（罗马书8章1节；哥林多后书5章17节）。我们的罪永远不会阻碍上帝赐给我们盼望、复兴和信心的传承。

整理：于姊妹