无私的服事使上帝得荣耀。

If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness. Isaiah 58:10

你心若向饥饿的人发怜悯，使困苦的人得满足，你的光就必在黑暗中发现。-以赛亚书58章10节

A small collection of people stood together, dwarfed by the size of the huge tree lying on the lawn. An elderly woman leaned on her cane and described watching the previous night’s windstorm as it blew down “our majestic old elm tree. Worst of all,” she continued, voice cracking with emotion, “it destroyed our lovely stone wall too. My husband built that wall when we were first married. He loved that wall. I loved that wall! Now it’s gone; just like him.”

有一小群人站在那里，在他们身边的草地上，那棵倒着的大树显得无比巨大。一位老太太扶着拐杖，述说前一晚猛烈的风暴吹倒了她家雄伟的老榆树。她还激动地说：“更糟的是，还毁了我宝贝的石墙。这片墙是我刚结婚的时候，我丈夫亲自砌筑起来的。我丈夫和我都很宝贵这片墙！但现在墙毁了，就像我丈夫也不在了。”

Next morning, as she peeked out at the tree company workers cleaning up the downed tree; a big smile spread across her face. In between the branches she could just make out two adults and the boy who mowed her lawn carefully measuring and rebuilding her beloved stone wall!

隔天早上，她看见窗外树木工人清理倒下的树时，脸上展露出微笑。因为她透过层层枝桠，看到有两个人和一个帮她剪草的男孩，正在小心翼翼地测量和重建她心爱的石墙！

The prophet Isaiah describes the kind of service God favors: acts that lift the hearts of those around us, like the wall repairers did for the elderly woman. This passage teaches that God values unselfish service to others over empty spiritual rituals. In fact, God exercises a two-way blessing on the selfless service of His children. First, God uses our willing acts of service to aid the oppressed and needy (Isaiah 58:7–10). Then God honors those engaged in such service by building or rebuilding our reputations as powerful positive forces in His kingdom (vv. 11–12). What service will you offer this day?

先知以赛亚讲论上帝所喜悦的服事，就是付出行动使周遭的人喜乐，就像这些修墙工人为这位老太太所做的一样。今天阅读的这段经文教导我们，上帝看重无私的服事，更甚于空洞的宗教仪式。事实上，上帝儿女无私的服事会得着祂双向的赐福。首先，上帝用我们甘心的服事让受压迫和有需要的人得帮助（以赛亚书58章7-10节）。接着，上帝会尊荣服事的人，让他们在祂的国度中成为多人的祝福（11-12节）。今天，你会如何服事呢？

感谢天父，祢藉由别人的服事使我们的心喜乐，感谢祢也让我们有机会如此行！

Isaiah 58:6-12    NIV

58 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: “Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

以赛亚书 58:6-12 

58 我所拣选的禁食，不是要松开凶恶的绳，解下轭上的索，使被欺压的得自由，折断一切的轭吗？ 7 不是要把你的饼分给饥饿的人，将漂流的穷人接到你家中，见赤身的给他衣服遮体，顾恤自己的骨肉而不掩藏吗？ 8 这样，你的光就必发现如早晨的光，你所得的医治要速速发明，你的公义必在你前面行，耶和华的荣光必做你的后盾。 9 那时你求告，耶和华必应允；你呼求，他必说：‘我在这里！’“你若从你中间除掉重轭和指摘人的指头，并发恶言的事， 10 你心若向饥饿的人发怜悯，使困苦的人得满足，你的光就必在黑暗中发现，你的幽暗必变如正午。 11 耶和华也必时常引导你，在干旱之地使你心满意足，骨头强壮。你必像浇灌的园子，又像水流不绝的泉源。 12 那些出于你的人必修造久已荒废之处，你要建立拆毁累代的根基，你必称为补破口的和重修路径与人居住的。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

Am I my brother’s keeper? We might wonder something similar when we hear Isaiah urging his people to reach out to a world of hurting people. But another story is working in the background. God’s people were trying to avoid responsibility for the wrongs they were doing to their own flesh and blood (Isaiah 58:7).

我岂是看守我兄弟的吗？当我们听到以赛亚敦促同胞帮助那些受伤害的人时，可能也会有类似的想法。但在这其中有一个背景故事，那就是上帝的百姓企图逃避他们的责任，不愿纠正他们对自己的骨肉同胞所行的不义（以赛亚书58章7节）。

Can you think of anything you are doing, or not doing, to those around you that is making their life difficult? Can you think of ways to unselfishly serve them?

想想看，你曾否对身边的人做过或没做什么，以致让他们陷入困境呢？你愿意如何无私地服事他们呢？

整理：于姊妹