三月十七日
记念穷人……（加2:10）
为什么神准这么多的子民受穷呢？若他喜悦的话，他就可以使他们都富有；他能把袋袋的黄金放在他们的门口，他能使他们每年的收入非常可观，他也能在他们的四周摆满了各种食物，正像他使鹌鹑遮满了以色列人的营一样，并自天上降下食物喂养它们。他们并没有受穷得必要，除非神看那样是最好的。“千山上得牲畜也是他的。”——他能供给他们，他能使巨富、至尊、大能的人为他的子民效劳，把极多的财富带来放在他们的脚前，因为一切人的心都归他管辖。但他并不愿这样作；他准他们少衣缺食，他准他们备受饥寒。这是为什么呢？理由有很多，有一个是：给我们一班大得恩典的人一个机会，好表现出我们对耶稣的爱。我们爱基督的心是借着歌颂他、祷告他表现出来，但若世上没有贫困的人，我们就没有机会借着周济弟兄表现我们的爱。他这样安排，为的是叫我们不只是在言语上爱，也要在行为和真理上证实我们的爱心。若我们真爱基督，我们就会关心他所爱的人；他所宝贵的人，我们也要宝贵。我们不要觉得这是一种义务，我们要把济助主民中的贫穷人当作一种特权——记住主耶稣的话说：“你们既作在我这弟兄中一个最小的身上，就是作在我身上了。”这个可靠的应许是很甜蜜的，这也足以激起我们要用甘心的手、慈爱的心来帮助别人。——要记住凡我们向他的民所作的，基督都认为是作在他身上。
March 17
“Remember the poor.” –Galatians 2:10
Why does God allow so many of His children to be poor? He could make
them all rich if He pleased; He could lay bags of gold at their doors; He could
send them a large annual income; or He could scatter round their houses
abundance of provisions, as once he made the quails lie in heaps round the camp
of Israel, and rained bread out of heaven to feed them. There is no necessity
that they should be poor, except that He sees it to be best. “The cattle
upon a thousand hills are His”–He could supply them; He could make the
richest, the greatest, and the mightiest bring all their power and riches to
the feet of His children, for the hearts of all men are in His control. But He
does not choose to do so; He allows them to suffer want, He allows them to pine
in penury and obscurity. Why is this? There are many reasons: one is, to give
us, who are favoured with enough, an opportunity of showing our love to Jesus.
We show our love to Christ when we sing of Him and when we pray to Him; but if
there were no sons of need in the world we should lose the sweet privilege of
evidencing our love, by ministering in alms-giving to His poorer brethren; He
has ordained that thus we should prove that our love standeth not in word only,
but in deed and in truth. If we truly love Christ, we shall care for those who
are loved by Him. Those who are dear to Him will be dear to us. Let us then
look upon it not as a duty but as a privilege to relieve the poor of the Lord’s
flock–remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, “Inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Surely this assurance is sweet enough, and this motive strong enough to lead us
to help others with a willing hand and a loving heart–recollecting that all we
do for His people is graciously accepted by Christ as done to Himself.
