2016年2月13日
奇妙雪花 Ice Flowers
读经: 哥林多前書12章4-14節
Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:4-14
恩賜原有分別，聖靈卻是一位。-哥林多前書12章4節
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.
1 Corinthians 12:4
全年读经: 利未記14章;馬太福音26章51-75節
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75
威爾森·班特利（Wilson Bentley）在15歲時，就對精巧細緻的美麗雪花深深著迷。他用母親給他的一部老舊顯微鏡看得十分入迷，並描繪了數百張精彩絕倫的冰晶結構。但是雪花融化得太快了，致使他無法及時捕捉到每個細節。直到1885年，他將摺疊暗箱照相機裝在顯微鏡上，歷經多次的試驗與失敗後，才成功拍下首張雪花的照片。班特利終其一生捕捉了5000張雪花的影像，因為每一雪片都是獨特的設計，所以他稱這些雪花為「美麗的小奇蹟」與「冰雪之花」。
沒有兩片雪花是相同的，但所有雪花都來自相同的源頭。基督的跟隨者也是如此，雖然我們都有同一位創造主與救贖主，但我們每個人都是不一樣的。在上帝榮耀的計畫裡，祂將各式各樣的人聯結成為一體，並且給我們不同的恩賜。保羅在描述信徒們各有不同的恩賜時，他說：「恩賜原有分別，聖靈卻是一位。職事也有分別，主卻是一位。功用也有分別，上帝卻是一位，在眾人裡面運行一切的事。」 （哥林多前書12章4-6節）
感謝上帝賜給我們不同的恩賜，讓我們每個人都可以用獨特的方式來幫助與服事他人。
親愛的主，謝謝祢賜給我獨特的恩賜，
幫助我忠心地運用這些恩賜來服事祢、服事人。
每一個人都是上帝愛的設計，獨一無二。
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Fifteen-year-old Wilson Bentley was captivated by the intricate beauty of snowflakes. He looked with fascination through an old microscope his mother had given him and made hundreds of sketches of their remarkable designs, but they melted too quickly to adequately capture their detail. Several years later, in 1885, he had an idea. He attached a bellows camera to the microscope and, after much trial and error, took his first picture of a snowflake. During his lifetime Bentley would capture 5,000 snowflake images and each one was a unique design. He described them as "tiny miracles of beauty" and "ice flowers."
No two snowflakes are alike, yet all come from the same source. So it is with followers of Christ. We all come from the same Creator and Redeemer, yet we are all different. In God's glorious plan He has chosen to bring a variety of people together into a unified whole, and He has gifted us in various ways. In describing the diversity of gifts to believers, Paul writes: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work" (1 Cor. 12:4-6).
The Spirit has gifted us in various ways, used to serve Him and others.
Thank God for the unique contribution you can offer as you help and serve others.
Dear Lord, thank You for the unique way that You have gifted me. Help me to use my gifts faithfully to serve You and others.
Each person is a unique expression of God's loving design.