God Will Act 上帝会采取行动

[Dexu Xia]

Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. 2 Timothy 4:11

Bible reading: Acts 15:36-41

Today's Insights

“John, also called Mark” was a young believer in Jesus in Jerusalem, where his mother Mary hosted a church in her house (Acts 12:12). After handing over the famine relief money from the Antioch church to the Jerusalem church, Barnabas and Paul took Mark with them back to Antioch (v. 25). He became Paul’s missionary intern in his first missionary journey (13:5) but left the mission team halfway and returned to Jerusalem (v. 13). Paul viewed this as an unforgivable defection and failure (15:38). The apostle’s refusal to let Mark join the second missionary trip ended his cordial partnership with Barnabas (v. 39). Barnabas restored and nurtured his young cousin (Colossians 4:10) into faithfulness and fruitfulness (2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24). Because Peter called him “my son Mark” (1 Peter 5:13), scholars believe that he later came under the tutelage of Peter. Scholars also believe that Peter gave Mark the source materials to write the gospel bearing his name.

Today's Devotional    A hardworking clerk, Erin always did her job well. But after she was accused of dishonesty, Erin was put on leave while being investigated. She felt like quitting in protest but was advised to wait it out. “Leaving suggests you’re guilty,” she was told. So Erin stayed, praying for God to give her justice. Sure enough, months later, she was cleared.

John Mark may have felt the same when Paul dropped him from the mission team. To be sure, the young man had left them earlier (Acts 15:37-38). But perhaps he’d regretted this and was hoping to be included this time. He must have felt unfairly judged by Paul; only Barnabas believed in him.

Years later, Paul would change his mind. “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry,” he said (2 Timothy 4:11). John Mark must have been relieved to have his reputation restored.

When we’re unfairly judged, may we remember that Jesus understands how we feel: He Himself was judged a sinner though He wasn’t, and He was treated worse than a common criminal though He was the Son of God. But He continued to do His Father’s will, knowing that He’d be vindicated and shown to be righteous. If you’ve been unfairly judged, don’t give up: God knows and will act in His time.

Reflect & Pray    What promises of God can you hold on to when you’re unfairly judged? How does Jesus’ example encourage you?

 Father, only You know how I feel and what I’m going through. Please grant me the faith and patience to wait and to trust in You, for You’re a just God.

 “把马可带来，因为他在传道的事上于我有益。”提后 4:11

    今日读经： 使徒行传 15章36-41 节

    今日心得： “约翰，又名马可”是耶路撒冷一位年轻的耶稣的信徒，他的母亲玛利亚在自己家里主持一个家庭教会（使徒行传 12:12）。巴拿巴和保罗把安提阿教会奉献的饥荒救济金送交耶路撒冷教会后，就带着马可回到安提阿（25 节）。在保罗第一次宣教之旅中，马可成为他的传教实习生（13:5），但是，马可中途离开了宣教团队，返回耶路撒冷（13节）。保罗认为这是不可原谅的背叛和失败（15:38）。所以，保罗拒绝让马可参加他第二次宣教之旅，并且为此结束了他与巴拿巴的友伴关系（第 39 节）。巴拿巴却继续栽培他的年轻表弟马可（歌罗西书 4:10），使他变得忠诚并多结果子（提摩太后书 4:11；腓利门书 1:24）。因为彼得称他为“我儿子马可”（彼得前书 5:13），所以圣经学者们认为，马可后来受到了彼得的教导。学者们还认为，彼得给了马可写作马可福音的原始资料。

    今日灵修： 艾琳是一名勤奋的职员，总是能出色地完成工作。但在她被指控不诚实后，艾琳在接受调查期间被停职。她很想辞职以示抗议，但被是人们建议她等待。她被告知，“离开表明你有罪”。于是艾琳留下来，祈求上帝还她公正。果然，几个月后，她被洗清了罪名。

当保罗将约翰·马可从传教队中除名时，他可能也有同样的感受。可以肯定的是，这个年轻人曾经在早些时候离开了他们（使徒行传 15:37-38）。但也许他对此感到后悔，并希望能参加这次宣教旅行。他一定觉得保罗对他的评判不公平；只有巴拿巴相信他。多年后，保罗改变了主意。他说：“把马可带来，因为他在传道的事上于我有益”（提摩太后书 4:11）。约翰马可一定很高兴，自己的名誉得以恢复。

当我们受到不公平的评判时，我们应该记住，耶稣理解我们的感受：他自己被判定为罪人，尽管他不是；他受到的待遇比普通罪犯更差，尽管他是上帝的儿子。但他继续遵行他父的旨意，知道他会得到平反，被证明是正义的。如果你受到了不公平的评判，不要放弃：上帝知道，并会在适当的时候采取行动。

反思和祈祷：当你受到不公平的评判时，你可以坚持上帝的哪些承诺？耶稣的例子如何鼓励你？

天父啊，只有你知道我的感受，知道我所经历的一切。请赐予我信心和耐心，让我等候并信靠你，因为你是公义的神。