灵命日粮  -  2007 年 9 月 12 日
杰作
读经: 哥林多后书5章12-21节
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金句: 「若有人在基督里，他就是新造的人，旧事已过，都变成新的了。」（哥林多后书5章17节）
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全年读经: 箴言13-15章；哥林多后书5章
  
我还记得童年时，父亲最喜欢做数字画（paint-by-number）。他的画布很大，但是标了号码，要涂上指定颜色的方格却很小。父亲总会在地下室的椅子坐上几个小时，把画布摆在面前，边上放着一杯咖啡，一丝不苟地工作。
我那时年纪还小，总爱坐在地下室阶梯上，满心倾慕地看着父亲作画。我之所以看得那么入迷，不是因为我把做数字画的父亲当成了一位伟大的艺术家，而是惊讶于他做每一幅画都极有耐心。到最后那无数闪亮的色彩化成了一幅画，使父亲感到一切辛苦都是值得的。
只要一想到父亲是多么有耐心地使一幅画从无到有，我就会想到我们的天父。他看着我们，知道我们生命中的缺乏和不完美，但却以恩慈和耐心在我们身上动工，使我们成为他「效法他儿子的模样」（罗马书8章29节）的杰作。
上帝不但使我们成为新造的人（哥林多后书5章17节），而且还孜孜不倦地在我们生命中注入他的精神与力量，拥有这样一位上帝是何等喜乐的事啊！WEC 

神看我们将会成为：
他终会完成的杰作；
圣灵在生命中动工，
能拥有他儿子形象。Sper

唯有上帝能使有罪的灵魂变为恩典的杰作。 

                                  

September 12, 2007
Making A Masterpiece
READ: 2 Corinthians 5:12-21
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. —2 Corinthians 5:17
 
One of my earliest memories of my dad is that he loved doing paint-by-number pictures. The canvas was large, but the numbered segments where a predetermined color would go were very small. Dad would sit in his chair in our basement for hours, working meticulously with his painting in front of him and a cup of coffee at his side.
As a boy, I would sit on the basement stairs and watch with fascination. My interest did not stem from a misguided thought that doing paint-by-number work made my dad a great artist. Rather, I was amazed at how patiently he would work on each painting. Finally, the thousands of slivers of color became an image that Dad considered well worth the effort.
As I think of my dad’s patience in bringing a painting to life, my heart is directed to our heavenly Father. He looks on us and sees the voids and imperfections in our lives, yet lovingly and patiently does His work in us to make us His masterpiece—a masterpiece that “conform[s] to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29).
What a joy it is to have such a God, who makes us new (2 Cor. 5:17) and never tires of investing His energy and effort into our lives! —Bill Crowder

God sees in us a masterpiece
That one day will be done;
His Spirit works through all our life
To make us like His Son. —Sper

Only God can transform a sin-stained soul into a masterpiece of grace.
                               

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