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Not long ago, a seasoned marathoner had just crossed the finish line with an impressive time when he suffered a heart attack and died. From the outside, he looked to be the picture of health, but a fatal condition was hiding on the inside.Every one of us needs an occasional visit to the doctor for a checkup to make sure everything is working alright and that we don’t have an unknown serious internal condition.
不久前,一位经验丰富的马拉松运动员,就在他以惊人的速度冲过终点线的同时,却遭遇了心脏病并且身亡。从外表上看,他一切健康并且正常但是致命的威胁一直隐藏在他的身体内。我们每个人都需要定期去医生那里做一个身体检查,确保身体的各项技能都在正常的运转中,确定没有什么我们不清楚的情况发生。
The same is true with our spiritual lives. As creatures of habit, we tend to go through life on autopilot. We often miss clues that indicate that our spirit is not enjoying the good health that God created it for.
其实对于我们的属灵生活也是一样,作为生物习惯,我们更愿意让生活自动导航。我们常常错过上帝给我们的一些提示,我们的生活已经偏离上帝所创造的健康的模式。
In the same way that the doctor puts us through a battery of tests to diagnose potential physical problems, God has given us a process of evaluating spiritual problems in our lives:
医生通常会以检查的方式给我们不断充电,而上帝也会用 差不多同样的方式在我们的生活中为我们的属灵景况进行评估。
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
圣灵所结的果子,就是仁爱、喜乐、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信实、 (加拉太书 5:22 和合本)
Each of these is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit’s active presence in our daily activities. Let’s look at each one and ask some diagnostic questions to make sure we’re healthy.
以上每一个特征都是圣灵的种子在我们的日常生活中的活跃体现。让我们来逐个了解,并且对照我们的生活提出一些有诊断目的的问题,让我们确定我们的属灵生活是否健康.
Love 仁爱
This word for love doesn’t refer to warm feelings but to a deliberate attitude of good will and devotion to others. Love gives freely without looking at whether the other person deserves it, and it gives without expecting anything back.
这里的爱并不是指那种温暖的感觉,而是对于一种经过深思熟虑的善意的态度还有为对方舍己的决心。爱的给予是毫无牵绊的,不是要根据对方是否值的你对他付出,爱的给予是不求回报的.
Question: Am I motivated to do for others as Christ has done for me, or am I giving in order to receive something in return?
我是否像基督一样去爱别人?还是为了得到某些回报而付出爱?
Joy 喜乐
Unlike happiness, joy is gladness that is completely independent of the good or bad things that happen in the course of the day. In fact, joy denotes a supernatural gladness given by God’s Spirit that actually seems to show up best during hard times. This is a product of fixing your focus on God’s purposes for the events in your life rather than on the circumstances.
跟幸福不一样的是,喜乐是一种完全不依赖于好的或坏的事物而是在一整天的过程中发生的快乐。事实上,喜乐是一种符号,它是由上帝的灵赐下的,特别是在苦难中显得尤为珍贵。它源于在你遇到的事情上把目光定睛在上帝的计划上,而不是环境上。
Question: Am I experiencing a joy of life on a regular basis, or is my happiness dependent on things going smoothly in my day?
我是不是正经历常态的喜乐,或是我的幸福是建立在顺利的一天的基础上?
Peace 和平
It’s not the absence of turmoil, but the presence of tranquility even while in a place of chaos. It is a sense of wholeness and completeness that is content knowing that God controls the events of the day.
它不是指没有混乱,而是即便在一团糟的情况下也有的平静。那是一种完整并完全的感受----上帝掌管着这一天中的一切。
Question: Do I find myself frazzled by the crashing waves of turmoil in my life, or am I experiencing “the peace that passes all comprehension” (Philippians 4:6-7)?
我有没有发现我自己已经被生湖中的混乱搞得筋疲力尽?“神所赐出人意外的平安”(腓立比书 4:6-7)
Patience 忍耐
Other words that describe this fruit are lenience, long-suffering, forbearance, perseverance, and steadfastness. It is the ability to endure ill treatment from life or at the hands of others without lashing out or paying back.
其他可以形容这个果子的词有宽厚,忍耐的,宽容的,坚持不懈的,坚定不移的。它是一种忍耐生活中的苦难的能力,或是来自于他人的攻击或无理。
Question: Am I easily set off when things go wrong or people irritate me, or am I able to keep a godly perspective in the face of life’s irritations?
我是不是很容易在别人刺激我的时候,或事情进行的不顺利时就抓狂?还是我可以从神的角度看待生活中的难题?
Kindness 恩慈
When kindness is at work in a person’s life, he or she looks for ways to adapt to meet the needs of others. It is moral goodness that overflows. It’s also the absence of malice.
当恩慈在一个人的生活中起作用时,他或她会想办法让自己适应他人的需要。那是在道德上充满善意的姿态。同样不带有任何恶意。
Question: Is it my goal to serve others with kindness, or am I too focused on my own needs, desires, or problems to let the goodness of God overflow to others?
问题:我的目标是否是带着善意服侍别人,还是只定睛于自己的需要,欲望,还有问题,以至于让上帝的美意流向他人。
Goodness 良善
While kindness is the soft side of good, goodness reflects the character of God. Goodness in you desires to see goodness in others and is not beyond confronting or even rebuking (as Jesus did with the money changers in the temple) for that to happen.
如果恩慈是美好的柔软面,那么良善则反映出上帝的性情。良善在你身上的作用,是会让你燃起欲望看他人的美好,却不会忽略对抗或指责。(就像耶稣对待圣殿中换零钱的小贩。)
Question: Does my life reflect the holiness of God, and do I desire to see others experience God at a deep level in their own lives?
我的生活方式是否体现了上帝的圣洁,我是否渴望更深层次了解他人在生活中经历神?
Faithfulness 信实
A faithful person is one with real integrity. He or she is someone others can look to as an example, and someone who is truly devoted to others and to Christ. Our natural self always wants to be in charge, but Spirit-controlled faithfulness is evident in the life of a person who seeks good for others and glory for God.
一个信实的人是一个真实正直的人。他或她是被人效仿的榜样,而且会真诚的为他人付上代价,也会忠诚于上帝。我们的天然人总是喜欢掌控,但是由圣灵掌管的信实是愿意寻求他人的益处,并且致力于荣耀上帝。
Question: Are there areas of hypocrisy and indifference toward others in my life, or is my life characterized by faith in Christ and faithfulness to those around me?
在我的生活中是否有某些地方表现的虚伪,还有对他人的漠不关心,或者在我的生活中体现出对基督的信心,还有对我周围人的信实。
Gentleness 温柔
Meekness is not weakness. Gentleness is not without power, it just chooses to defer to others. It forgives others, corrects with kindness, and lives in tranquility.
温顺不是软弱。温柔不会毫无力量,那只是选择对他人的尊重。它会让你饶恕别人,柔和地纠错,生活安稳。
Question: Do I come across to others as brash and headstrong, or am I allowing the grace of God to flow through me to others?
我是不是给人粗鲁,顽固的印象?还是我可以让上帝的恩慈完全展现在我与他人相处时?
Self-control 节制
Our fleshly desires, Scripture tells us, are continually at odds with God’s Spirit and always want to be in charge. Self-control is literally releasing our grip on the fleshly desires, choosing instead to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. It is power focused in the right place.
圣经告诉我们,我们的肉体总是会与圣灵作对,并且总是想掌控。节制就是说要放权我们肉体的欲望给圣灵。那是定睛在正确事情上的力量。
Question: Are my fleshly desires controlling my life, or am I allowing the Spirit to direct me to the things that please God and serve others?
我的肉体的需要是不是控制着我的生活?或者我是不是让圣灵带领我寻求上帝喜悦的事或者试着服侍别人。
Walk by the Spirit
与圣灵同行
While not a fruit of the Spirit, the final item on the checkup produces all nine qualities listed above. When we follow the Spirit’s lead instead of being led by our self-focused desires, He produces the fruit.
这不是圣灵的果子之一,但确实检测以上九个果实都在你生上的程序。当我们愿意由圣灵引导,而不是由我们自我身体的欲望引领时,祂会产生果实。
But even when we don’t walk by the Spirit, He is the very one who convicts us that things are not in proper order in our lives.
但是当我们不与圣灵同行时,祂也会指出我们生活中的罪。
God promises that if we are willing to admit that we have been walking our own way and ask for His forgiveness and cleansing, He will empower us through His Spirit to live above ourselves and live the abundant life for which He has created us.
上帝承诺我们,如果我们愿意交出生活的主权,并且寻求祂的饶恕和洁净,祂将会让圣灵引导我们并且给我们能力让我们过着高于我们的生活,过着祂为我们创造的丰盛的生活。
Question: Am I actively depending on the Holy Spirit to guide me in God’s ways so I don’t get wrapped up in myself? If not, am I willing to confess to God that His ways are better than mine, and that I need the Spirit’s guidance to live above the fray?
我是否积极地倚靠圣灵引导我走在上帝的道路上,所以我不会过于沉迷于自己的身上?如果不是,那么我是否愿意向上帝认罪,并且承认祂的道路搞过我的道路?我是否需要圣灵的指引让我的胜过高于一切苦难?
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