灵命日粮4月12日服事最小的ServingtheLeast

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他叫史宾赛，但大家都叫他史宾。他高中时，曾是全州的径赛冠军。后来他获得全额奖学金，进入一所名闻遐迩的大学。如今他居住在美国某个大都市，在化学工程的相关领域备受敬重。但如果你问史宾，截至目前为止，他人生中最大的成就是什么，他绝不会提到上述的任何一件事，而会很兴奋地述说他在尼加拉瓜的事工。他在那里最贫穷的区域帮忙设立了学业辅导课程，每隔几个月就会去探视那些老师和孩子们。他也会告诉你，服事这些贫困儿童如何使他的生命更加丰盛。

“弟兄中一个最小的”这句话可以有很多含意，但耶稣用此来形容那些无法回报我们的人。按着世界的标准，他们对于我们的服事只能回报一点或根本无法回馈。这些男人、女人和孩童往往被人忽视，甚至被完全遗忘。然而，耶稣却重视这些人，祂说：“这些事你们既做在我这弟兄中一个最小的身上， 就是做在我身上了”（马太福音25章40节）。基督的意思是只需服事那“最小的”，就等于服事祂了。要明白这一点，我们不需要有名校的学位，只需要一颗愿意付出的心。    

His name is Spencer. But everybody calls him “Spence.” He was a state track champion in high school; then he went on to attend a prestigious university on a full academic scholarship. He lives now in one of America’s largest cities and is highly respected in the field of chemical engineering. But if you were to ask Spence his greatest achievements to date, he wouldn’t mention any of those things. He would excitedly tell you about the trips he makes to Nicaragua every few months to check in on the kids and teachers in the tutoring program he helped establish in one of the poorest areas of the country. And he’d tell you how enriched his life has been by serving them. 

“The least of these.” It’s a phrase people use in a variety of ways, yet Jesus used it to describe those who, according to the world’s standards, have little or nothing to offer us in return for our service. They are the men and women and children the world often overlooks—if not forgets completely. Yet it’s exactly those people Jesus elevates to such a beautiful status by saying, “Whatever you did [for them], you did for me” (MATTHEW 25:40). You don’t have to have a degree from a prestigious university to understand Christ’s meaning: serving “the least” is the same as serving Him. All it really takes is a willing heart.  

今日读经：马太福音25章31-40节

25:31 当人子在他荣耀里，同着众天使降临的时候，要坐在他荣耀的宝座上。

25:32 万民都要聚集在他面前。他要把他们分别出来，好像牧羊的分别绵羊山羊一般；

25:33 把绵羊安置在右边，山羊在左边。

25:34 于是，王要向那右边的说：‘你们这蒙我父赐福的，可来承受那创世以来为你们所预备的国。

25:35 因为我饿了，你们给我吃；渴了，你们给我喝；我作客旅，你们留我住；

25:36 我赤身露体，你们给我穿；我病了，你们看顾我；我在监里，你们来看我。’

25:37 义人就回答说：‘主啊，我们什么时候见你饿了，给你吃，渴了，给你喝？

25:38 什么时候见你作客旅，留你住，或是赤身露体，给你穿？

25:39 又什么时候见你病了，或是在监里，来看你呢？’

25:40 王要回答说：‘我实在告诉你们：这些事你们既做在我这弟兄中一个最小的身上，就是做在我身上了。’

Today's reading：MATTHEW 25:31-40

25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.

25:32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

25:33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

25:34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

25:36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

25:37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?

25:38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?

25:39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

25:40 "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

马太福音25章31-40节一开始就是耶稣讲论审判，在审判的时候，绵羊（指信耶稣的人）与山羊（指非信徒）要分开，“把绵羊安置在右边，山羊在左边”（33节）。这个比喻代表什么呢？《释经家圣经注释》（The Expositor’s Bible Commentary）提到，在乡下，白天的时候，绵羊和山羊会混杂在一起，但到了晚上常要把它们分开。绵羊耐寒，但山羊必须聚在一起才能保暖。在空旷的放牧区，就连在白天也得将绵羊和山羊分开来。但现在，这些众所周知的、简单的牧羊细节，都带有象征意义。右手边是拥有权力和尊荣的位置。

Matthew 25:31–40 opens with Jesus’ words about the time of judgment when the sheep (believers in Jesus) will be separated from the goats (unbelievers): “He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left” (v. 33). What does this parable represent? The Expositor’s Bible Commentary offers this explanation: “In the countryside, sheep and goats mingled during the day. At night they were often separated. Sheep tolerate the cool air, but goats have to be herded together for warmth. In sparse grazing areas the animals might be separated during the day as well. But now these well-known, simple, pastoral details are freighted with symbolism. The right hand is the place of power and honor.”

— 柯贝尔  Bill Crowder

  「撒母耳记上19-21章」

「路加福音11章29-54节」

BIBLE IN A YEAR 

1 SAMUEL 19–21; LUKE 11:29–54

      主啊，荣耀的君王，我赞美祢！当祢降临审判万民的时候，也将是信徒们欢呼的荣耀时刻， 因祢的恩慈我们蒙福得享永生！求主帮助我们在地上的日子里都持守柔和谦卑的爱心，向生活上有困难的软弱肢体伸出援助之手，求主恩待我们！奉主耶稣基督的名祈求，阿们！