| 愛的法則 | |
| 經文: 「要愛人如己。你們若全守這至尊的律法才是好的。」（雅各書二：8） | |
| 有文士問主耶穌：「誡命中哪是第一要緊的呢？」（可十二：28）主耶穌回答：「你要盡心、盡性、盡意、盡力、愛主你的上帝。」接著祂又補充：「要愛人如己。」這兩條誡命的總綱就是「愛」，在天上或人間，愛是最高法則，也是超越一切的。 基督徒對弟兄姐妹之愛，為顯明幾個目的： 一、這顯示人的本性，有愛自己的天性，這也是上帝植於人心的本能，而上帝也呼召我們，用這樣的愛來愛我們的鄰舍；因此，我們心中就有愛鄰舍如同自己的律法，存在我們心中。 二、因為上帝愛我們，所以聖經也教導我們要愛鄰舍，無論某人多邪惡，他仍有份於上帝的愛與性情，因他是照著上帝的形像造的。我愛他不僅因為他是我的同胞，更是因為他擁有上帝的形像，而且上帝也愛他。也正因為上帝愛世人，不管惡人仇敵祂都愛，所以我也當效法祂，去愛所有人。「要慈悲憐憫，因為你天上的父是慈悲憐憫。」我們必須學像天父，知道如何去愛眾人。 三、基督徒對肢體或鄰舍之愛應該更多，因為在恩典中，上帝已藉著耶穌基督的贖罪，使我們與祂和好；因此上帝可以賜下祂的大愛與我們分享，這是上帝應許給每一位兒女的禮物：基督徒要用耶穌愛他們的愛，來愛他的鄰舍。 四、最後一個更超越的想法，就是耶穌為我們世人的罪死在十字架上，犧牲祂寶貴的生命，我們這些蒙受救恩，得著永生的信徒，豈不該也像耶穌那樣，將自己生命擺在祭壇上，求上帝來使用我們這個卑微的器皿，藉我們流露屬天的愛，來吸引周圍的人，帶領他們同蒙上帝的祝福與恩典。 弟兄姐妹們，這是支持我們為何要「愛人如己」的四個理由。這些理由豈不極具不可抗拒的說服力？來催逼上帝的兒女向弟兄姐妹流露上帝的愛，彰顯榮耀的愛。 願上帝將愛的律法，深深銘刻在我們心中。 | |
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| THE ROYAL LAW OF LOVE | |
| Scripture: "If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou, shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well."—JAS. ii. 8. | |
| When our Lord, in answer to the question, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" had answered: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart," He added: "The second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." These two commandments both contain the one verb, love. In heaven, where God is, and on earth amongst men, love is the royal law, love is supreme. The Christian's love for his fellow-men has more than one purpose: 1. It reveals to us our own nature, implanted by God, that we should love ourselves, and it calls us to love our neighbors with the same love. Thus we have in our hearts the law to love our neighbors as ourselves. 2. Christianity teaches us to love our neighbor because God loves him. Every man, howsoever vile, has a share in God's compassion and love, because he is made in God's image. I ought, then, to love my neighbor, not merely because he is a fellow-man, but because I see God's likeness in him, and because God loves him. As God loves all men, even His enemies, even so, not more, nor less, I must love all. "Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful." From my Father in heaven I must learn how to love. 3. The Christian love of all mankind may rise still higher. In the realm of grace, God has reconciled us to Himself, so that He can apportion to us His personal love. This is the law for each child of God; he must love his brother with the same love with which Christ has loved him. 4. And then comes the last and the highest thought, that even as Christ, in His great love, redeemed a world dying in misery and sin, so all those who have received this love should give themselves, even as Christ did, to love all men, and devote their lives to making others partakers of this great blessedness. Child of God, here are four reasons why we should love our neighbors. Have they not a Divine authority and irresistible power, which will compel us to manifest this Christian love towards our brethren in fulness of beauty? May God write the royal law of love deep in our hearts! | |
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