2008年6月21日 星期六

2008-06-21 Devotionals Today

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在家中為基督而活

粵語國語

第21天

讀經:彼得前書三章1至7節

  彼得如今將話題一轉,論到夫婦之中的一人成了基督徒後,可能引起的家庭問題。

  為甚麼他給妻子的勸勉,遠遠多過他勸丈夫的話呢?因為在當時的異教社會中,妻子如果接受了基督,而丈夫並未接受的話,她遇到的困難和問題將會較多。今天的情況也可能差不多。

  做丈夫的如果成了基督徒,他的妻子和兒女極可能會隨他一起信主。但反過來說,如果是妻子成了基督徒,而丈夫卻未信,那就問題大了。因為當時的女性並沒有自主權,她只是屬於丈夫的一項資產,她的丈夫可以隨時把她休棄或與她離婚。

  即使是今天,信徒與非信徒結婚所產生的問題,也絕不容易去處理。有見及此,信徒應該一早就摒棄與未信者談戀愛及結婚的念頭。

  彼得沒有教導已信主的妻子離開丈夫,也沒有叫她不斷向丈夫傳道,或為信仰與丈夫爭辯,或經常囉唆他信主。反之,他勸勉她們要忠於自己的丈夫,和盡量做好妻子的本分。他指出,她以賢良淑德的品行來為基督作見證,遠遠比她用美麗的衣服來妝飾更為有效。她的丈夫見到她的美好品行,便曉得是信仰改變了她。

  有一位作者曾經用一句說話來概述這番教導,就是:「以美好的生活見證來潛移默化地傳道」。

  已信主的丈夫也同樣有他的責任。他應該體貼和愛護妻子,謹記我們所擁有的一切都是從基督而來。

  彼得最後提出了一項嚴厲的警告:我們的家庭生活若失去見證,便可能會妨礙我們的禱告生活。我們必須切記這點。

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LIVING FOR CHRIST IN OUR HOMES

DAY 21

BIBLE READING: 1 Peter 3: 1-7

Peter turns now to the domestic or family problems which arise when one partner becomes a Christian while the other does not.

Why is his advice to wives six times as long as his word to husbands? Because the wife's problem in those heathen days, if she accepted Christ and he did not, was much more difficult than that of a husband. It is possibly much the same today.

If a husband became a Christian, his wife and family would probably follow his lead. But if she was the Christian and he was not, she faced tremendous problems. She had no rights of her own. She was only a piece of property. Her husband could dismiss or divorce her at any moment.

Even today there are few experiences more difficult than to be united in marriage with an unbeliever. No Christian should ever begin such a union.

Peter did not tell the Christian wife to leave her husband. He did not tell her to preach, argue or to nag. He did tell her to insist on her rights as a Christian.

Instead he told her to be loyal to her husband and to be a good wife to him. He said that a Christian wife witnesses for Christ by being more interested in her clothes. In these ways, her husband will see Christ in her.

One writer says that all of this can be summed up in this phrase, 'the silent preaching of a lovely life'.

The Christian husband has his responsibilities too. He should be thoughtful and loving, remembering we all owe everything to Christ.

Peter adds a strong word of warning. It is possible for our prayers to be hindered by failure to live for Christ in our homes. That is something we all need to remember every day.

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