Chambers/Utmost/10-1

주님은 나의 최고봉 | ⇐ 9月30日 | 10月2日 ⇒

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10月1日

Classic: The Sphere Of Exaltation

Jesus…leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves. — Mark 9:2

We have all had times on the mount, when we have seen things from God’s standpoint and have wanted to stay there; but God will never allow us to stay there. The test of our spiritual life is the power to descend; if we have power to rise only, something is wrong. It is a great thing to be on the mount with God, but a man only gets there in order that afterwards he may get down among the devil-possessed and lift them up. We are not built for the mountains and the dawns and aesthetic affinities, those are for moments of inspiration, that is all. We are built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff we are in, and that is where we have to prove our mettle. Spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mount. We feel we could talk like angels and live like angels, if only we could stay on the mount. The times of exaltation are exceptional, they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware lest our spiritual selfishness wants to make them the only time.

We are apt to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching, it is to be turned into something better than teaching, viz., into character. The mount is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a great snare in asking — “What is the use of it?” In spiritual matters we can never calculate on that line. The moments on the mountain tops are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose.

Updated: The Place of Exaltation

…Jesus took…them up on a high mountain apart by themselves… —Mark 9:2

We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain, when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. But God will never allow us to stay there. The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain. If we only have the power to go up, something is wrong. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley (see Mark 9:14-18). We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life— those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet our spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain. We feel that we could talk and live like perfect angels, if we could only stay on the mountaintop. Those times of exaltation are exceptional and they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware to prevent our spiritual selfishness from wanting to make them the only time.

We are inclined to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching. In actual fact, it is to be turned into something even better than teaching, namely, character. The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a terrible trap in always asking, “What’s the use of this experience?” We can never measure spiritual matters in that way. The moments on the mountaintop are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose.

한글: 믿음의 분별

마 17:20 “너희가 만일 믿음이 한 겨자씨 만큼만 있으면….”

우리는 하나님께서 우리의 믿음을 보시고 상을 주신다고 생각합니다. 아마 믿음의 초기 단계에서는 그럴 수 있습니다. 그러나 믿음에 의해서는 아무 것도 벌 수 없습니다. 믿음은 하나님과 바른 관계를 맺게 하는 것이며 하나님께서 일하실 수 있는 기회를 드리는 것입니다. 만일 당신이 성도라면 하나님께서는 당신이 하나님과 접하도록 하기 위해 종종 당신의 삶의 밑바닥을 흔들어 놓으실 것입니다. 이는 하나님께서 당신이 주님의 축복만을 누리는 감상적인 삶을 살지 않고 믿음의 삶을 살기를 원하시기 때문입니다. 믿음 생활의 초기에는 약간의 태양 빛이 내리쬐는 체험에 자리를 잡고 그 안에 믿음이 있다는 느낌과 함께 좁고 뜨거운 믿음을 갖게 됩니다. 그때는 빛이 가득하고 달콤하였습니다. 그런데 하나님께서는 오직 믿음으로만 걷는 것을 가르치시기 위해 주의 뚜렷한 축복들을 거두십니다. 이제 당신은 오직 믿음으로 걷게 되는데 이때 당신은 과거에 하나님의 축복으로 인해 기쁨을 느꼈던 때와 스릴 넘치는 간증의 때 보다 훨씬 하나님께 귀중한 사람이 됩니다.

믿음은 그 본질상 시험을 거쳐야 합니다. 믿음의 실제 시험은 하나님을 신뢰하는 것이 얼마나 어려운지를 발견하는 데 있지 않고 우리 마음이 하나님의 성품을 분명하게 이해하고 있는가 하는 데 있습니다. 현실 속에서 역사하는 믿음이 되려면 말로 표현할 수 없는 어떤 고립된 기간들을 통과해야 합니다. 이때 믿음의 시험을 일상적인 삶의 훈련과 혼동하지 마십시오. 사실 우리가 믿음의 시험이라고 부르는 것들 중에는 삶 가운데서 필연적으로 나타나는 현상인 것들도 많습니다. 성경에서 말하는 믿음은 하나님과 모순되는 일들이 벌어지는 모든 상황 가운데서도 하나님을 믿는 것을 뜻합니다. “하나님께서 나를 죽이시더라도 여전히 나는 주를 의지하리라.” – 이것이 성경 전반에 걸쳐서 말하는 가장 고상한 믿음의 고백입니다.