“约瑟叫以色列的子孙起誓说:‘神必定看顾你们;你们要把我的骸骨从这里搬上去。’” – 创 50:25
“永远不要忘记家在哪里。”约瑟可能没有说过这些话,但如果你那天站在他的病床前,就会明白他的意思。
约瑟的临终遗言更加引人注目,因为他已经多年没有在“家乡”生活了。他在埃及取得了成功,生活富裕。他的孩子们住在那里。无论如何,埃及都是他的家。
知道家在哪里,首先意味着必须知道自己从哪里来,属于哪里。许多人在某个地方长大,从未离开过,他们无法想像在其他地方生活。但在今天这个流动性越来越大的社会里,“家”可能更难辨认。如果我一生中在十几个地方生活过,那么我到底属于哪里?
约瑟提醒他的兄弟们,他们的家是上帝应许给他们祖先——亚伯拉罕、以撒和雅各——的地方。总有一天,上帝会把他们带回那里。
无论我们在某个地方取得了多大的成功,界定基督徒归宿的,是由于我们被收纳进神的家。因为上帝在基督里帮助了我们,我们才有可能以上帝为家。永远不要忘记,你属于这位信实的救主。
祷告
天父,你已经告诉我们,有一处地方我们可以与你同住。你已派遣你的儿子和圣灵引领我们前往那里。愿我们永远不要忘记我们的归属。阿们。
创世记 50:22-26
22约瑟和他父亲的眷属都住在埃及。约瑟活了一百一十岁。
23约瑟得见以法莲第三代的子孙,玛拿西的孙子玛吉的儿子也养在约瑟的膝上。
24约瑟对他弟兄们说:“我要死了,但神必定看顾你们,领你们从这地上去,到他起誓所应许给亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各之地。”
25约瑟叫以色列的子孙起誓说:“神必定看顾你们,你们要把我的骸骨从这里搬上去。”
26约瑟死了,正一百一十岁。人用香料将他薰了,把他收殓在棺材里,停在埃及。
Never Forget Where Home Is
“Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, ‘God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.’” – Genesis 50:25
“Never forget where home is.” Joseph probably didn’t say these very words, but if you stood by his deathbed that day, there was little doubt about what he meant.
Joseph’s last words were all the more remarkable because he hadn’t lived at “home” for many years. He had grown successful and prosperous in Egypt. His children lived there. For all intents and purposes, Egypt was his home.
But knowing where home is means you have to know first of all where you have come from and where you belong. Many people grow up somewhere and never leave, and they cannot imagine living anywhere else. But in our increasingly mobile societies today, “home” can be harder to recognize. Where am I from, if I’ve lived in a dozen places during my lifetime?
Joseph reminded his brothers that their home was the place God had promised to their forefathers—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And one day God would bring them back there.
No matter how successful we may become in a particular place, the Christian’s home is defined by adoption into the family of God. Our home with God is only possible because God has come to our aid in Christ. Never forget that you belong to this faithful Savior.
Prayer
You have told us, Father, that there is a place where we can live with you. You have sent your Son and Spirit to lead us there. May we never forget where we belong. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳