July 16

"Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not with held thy son, thine only son…I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven; …… because thou hast obeyed my voice." (Gen. 22:16-18.)

AND from that day to this, men have been learning that when, at God's voice, they surrender up to Him the one thing above all else that was dearest to their very hearts, that same thing is returned to them by Him a thousand times over. Abraham gives up his one and only son, at God's call, and with this disappear all his hopes for the boy's life and manhood, and for a noble family his name. But the boy is restored, the family becomes as the stars and sands in number, and out of it, in the fullness of time, appears Jesus Christ.

That is just the way God meets every real sacrifice of every child of His. We surrender all and accept poverty; and He sends wealth. We renounce¹ a rich field of service; He sends us a richer one than we had dared to dream of. We give up all our cherished hopes, and die unto self; He sends us the life more abundant, and tingling² joy. And the crown of it all is our Jesus Christ. For we can never know the fullness of the life that is in Christ until we have made Abraham's supreme³ sacrifice. The earthly founder⁴ of the family of Christ must commence by losing himself and his only son, just as the Heavenly Founder of that family did. We cannot be members of that family with the full privileges and joys of membership upon any other basis. --- C. G. Trumbull.

We sometimes seem to forget that what God takes He takes in fire; (Isa.48:10) and that the only way to the resurrection life and the ascension mount is the way of the garden, the cross, and the grave.

Think not, O soul of man, that Abraham's was a unique and solitary⁵ experience. It is simply a specimen⁶ and pattern of God's dealings with all souls who are prepared to obey Him at whetever cost. After thou hast patiently endured, thou shalt receive the promise. The moment of supreme sacrifice shall be the moment of supreme and rapturous blessing⁷. God's river, which is full of water, shall burst its banks, and pour upon thee a tide of wealth and grace. There is nothing, indeed, which God will not do for a man who dares to step out upon what seems to be the mist; though as he puts down his foot he finds a rock beneath him. --- F. B. Meyer. 　

七月十六日

『你既行了这事，不留下你的儿子，就是你独生的儿子…我必叫你的子孙多起来，如同天上的星，海边的沙……因为你听从了我的话。』（创二十二:16-18）

从这几节圣经里，我们知道：凡照着神的要求，将我们心中最宝贵的那件东西献给神的，祂仍要将那件东西还给我们，并且加上千倍。亚伯拉罕因着神的命令甘心舍弃他的独生子，那时，他对于孩子的生命和成人的希望，都同时消失了；他高贵的种族也将从此绝代了。但是结果怎样呢？不但孩子归还了他，他的子孙竟多得如星沙一般；并且到了指定的日期，我们的主耶稣基督也出世在这个家族里。

这正是神对待祂每一个孩子的方法。当我们为祂舍弃富贵选择贫穷的时候，祂就给我们富贵。当我们为祂舍弃一个丰裕的职位时，祂就给我们一个梦想不到的更丰裕的职位。我们为祂舍弃一切甜蜜的希望，看自己是死了的时候，祂就给我们更丰盛的生命、更希罕的欢乐。我们越多为祂牺牲，就越多得到基督；直到像亚伯拉罕一般牺牲到最宝贵的那一件的时候，我们就要看见在基督里的那完美的生命。－崔伦保

我们有时候好像忘记了神拣选我们，是要在苦难的炉中拣选的（赛四十八章十节）。我们也忘记了复活的生命，和升天的荣耀，是从客西马尼、十字架和坟墓里来的。

亲爱的读者啊，不要想亚伯拉罕的经历是一件绝无仅有的奇事。我告诉你，这正是神神对待一切愿出代价来顺服祂的人们的一个样品、一个模型。牺牲最大的一剎那，就是祝福最大的一剎那。神对于一个胆敢为着祂向烟雾中前进的人，是没有一件东西不肯给的。－梅尔

1 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

2 tingling   

v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

5 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

6 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

7 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。