2016年4月4日
智慧與恩典 Wisdom and Grace
读经: 雅各書1章1-8節
Reading: James 1:1-8
你們中間若有缺少智慧的，應當求那厚賜與眾人、也不斥責人的上帝，主就必賜給他。-雅各書1章5節
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault. James 1:5
全年读经: 路得記1-4章;路加福音8章1-25節
Bible in a Year: Ruth 1–4; Luke 8:1-25
在1968年4月4日，美國黑人民權運動領袖馬丁·路德·金恩博士遇刺身亡，讓數百萬人極其悲憤、理想破滅。那天在印第安納州首府，羅伯特·甘迺迪正準備對大批美國黑人群眾發表演說，當時許多人尚未聽聞金恩博士的死訊，所以儘管可能引起騷亂，羅伯特仍決定宣佈這個噩耗。他請大家保持冷靜，並藉著自己對哥哥甘迺迪總統被刺殺的哀傷，與眾人同感悲痛。
接著，羅伯特引用希臘悲劇之父埃斯庫羅斯的詩句：即使在睡夢中，無法忘懷的傷痛，仍點滴落心頭，令我們感到絕望。直到因上帝浩大恩典而來的智慧，以意想不到的方式臨到我們。
「因上帝浩大恩典而來的智慧」是精闢的描述，意思是上帝的恩典不但讓我們讚嘆，還讓我們在人生最困難的時刻，仍有機會在智慧中成長。
雅各寫道：「你們中間若有缺少智慧的，應當求那厚賜與眾人、也不斥責人的上帝，主就必賜給他」（雅各書1章5節）。雅各告訴我們，這樣的智慧是在艱苦的土壤中發芽生長（2-4節），我們不僅從上帝的智慧中學習，更是在上帝的恩典中歇息。
天父，讓我們在困境中能看到祢令人驚歎的奇妙恩典。
求祢在試煉中指教我們，以祢的雙臂扶持我們。
試煉越大，恩典越多。
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On April 4, 1968, American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated, leaving millions angry and disillusioned. In Indianapolis, a largely African-American crowd had gathered to hear Robert F. Kennedy speak. Many had not yet heard of Dr. King's death, so Kennedy had to share the tragic news. He appealed for calm by acknowledging not only their pain but his own abiding grief over the murder of his brother, President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy then quoted a variation of an ancient poem by Aeschylus (526–456 bc):
In life's darkest times, we find what we need in Him.
Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.
"Wisdom through the awful grace of God" is a remarkable statement. It means that God's grace fills us with awe and gives us the opportunity to grow in wisdom during life's most difficult moments.
James wrote, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you" (James 1:5). James says that this wisdom is grown in the soil of hardship (vv. 2-4), for there we not only learn from the wisdom of God, we rest in the grace of God.
Father, in the face of life's sometimes awful circumstances, may we find Your grace to be a source of awe and wonder. Instruct us in our trials, and carry us in Your arms when we are overwhelmed.
The darkness of trials only makes God's grace shine brighter.