送给明天去教会的人
有两种人在星期天醒来。
一种人睁开眼睛,看见的是又一个可以自由支配的休息日。他可以补觉到中午,可以追剧到深夜,可以约朋友吃饭,可以处理堆积的家务。这一天属于他自己,像一块空白的画布,等待他用自己的意愿去填满。
另一种人睁开眼睛,知道这一天已经被圣别、被征用、被充满了。这一天不属于他,正如他自己也不属于自己。这一天是主的日子,是复活的记号,是永恒闯入时间的裂缝。他起身预备自己,不是为了完成一项宗教义务,而是因为他知道,若没有这一天,他将在其余六天里窒息。
第一种人以为自己是自由的,其实他是星期一到星期六的奴隶。他的休息不过是为了下一轮的劳役而充电,他的娱乐不过是在消费中逃避虚空。他活在一个没有出口的循环里,像仓鼠在轮子里奔跑,永远到不了任何地方。
第二种人看起来失去了自由,实际上他拥有了安息。因为当他在主日停下一切,他宣告说:我的价值不在于我的生产力,我的意义不在于我的成就,我的盼望不在于这个正在衰残的世界。他在这一天品尝永生,预习天国,操练那将来要永远做的事——敬拜那配得敬拜的。
主啊,愿我们不要像那些骗自己说”心里敬拜就够了”的人。若心里敬拜就够了,为何你道成肉身?若灵里相交就够了,为何你吩咐我们不可停止聚会?若个人虔诚就够了,为何你建立了教会?
愿我们明天聚集时,不是带着完成任务的心态,仿佛向上帝的时间银行缴纳了本周的税款。愿我们聚集时,是带着干渴的心,像鹿切慕溪水那样切慕你的院宇。
因为没有主日的生活,是被咒诅的生活。 有主日的一周,才是被祝福的一周。
为明天去教会敬拜上帝的人祷告。
#守主日运动#
For Those Going to Church Tomorrow
There are two kinds of people who wake up on Sunday morning.
The first kind opens his eyes and sees another day off that he can freely dispose of. He can sleep in until noon, binge-watch shows until midnight, meet friends for meals, tackle the pile of household chores. This day belongs to him, like a blank canvas waiting for him to fill with his own desires.
The second kind opens his eyes and knows this day has already been set apart, requisitioned, filled. This day does not belong to him, just as he himself does not belong to himself. This day is the Lord’s Day, the sign of resurrection, the crack where eternity breaks into time. He rises to prepare himself, not to complete a religious obligation, but because he knows that without this day, he will suffocate in the other six.
The first kind of person thinks he is free, but in reality he is a slave to Monday through Saturday. His rest is merely recharging for the next round of servitude; his entertainment is merely escaping emptiness through consumption. He lives in a cycle with no exit, like a hamster running in a wheel, never arriving anywhere.
The second kind of person appears to have lost his freedom, but in reality he has gained rest. For when he ceases from everything on the Lord’s Day, he declares: My value does not lie in my productivity, my meaning does not lie in my achievements, my hope does not lie in this decaying world. On this day he tastes eternal life, rehearses the kingdom, practices what he will do forever—worship the One who is worthy of worship.
Lord, may we not be like those who deceive themselves saying “worship in the heart is enough.” If worship in the heart were enough, why did You become incarnate? If spiritual communion were enough, why did You command us not to forsake the assembling together? If personal piety were enough, why did You establish the Church?
May we gather tomorrow not with a task-completion mentality, as if depositing our weekly tax payment into God’s time bank. May we gather with thirsty hearts, yearning for Your courts as the deer pants for streams of water.
For a life without the Lord’s Day is a cursed life. A week with the Lord’s Day is a blessed week.
Praying for those who will go to church tomorrow to worship God.
#LordsDayMovement