Recognizing God 认识上帝
Dexu Xia
The Son is the . . . exact representation of [God’s] being. Hebrews 1:3
Today's Scripture Hebrews 1:1-4
Today's Insights How God has made Himself known to us is noted briefly in Hebrews 1. In the past, He spoke “through the prophets” (v. 1), but now He “has spoken to us by his Son” (v. 2). The supreme revelation of God to us is Jesus. The first of several warning passages comes on the heels of the exaltation of Jesus in Hebrews 1. Readers are cautioned about rejecting the message of the Son and those commissioned by Him (2:3). The revelation of the Son is also seen in the teaching of Christ in Mark 12:1-12. Using story, He spoke of a man who planted a vineyard and sent servants (representing the prophets) to gather its fruit. When they were rejected, the man sent “a son, whom he loved” (v. 6)—a reference to God’s Son, Jesus—and they killed him (v. 8). Christ’s teaching here also concludes with words about rejecting the Son—“the stone the builders rejected” (v. 10).
Today's Devotional I flew to India, a land I’d never visited, and arrived at the Bengaluru airport after midnight. Though there’d been a flurry of emails, I didn’t know who was picking me up or where I should meet him. I followed the streaming mass of humanity to the baggage claim and customs, then out into the sticky night where I tried to spot a pair of friendly eyes among the sea of faces. For an hour, I walked back and forth in front of the crowd, hoping someone would recognize me. A kind man finally approached. “Are you Winn?” he asked. “I’m so sorry. I thought I’d recognize you, and you kept walking in front of me—but you didn’t look how I expected.”
We regularly get confused and fail to recognize people or places we should know. God provides an unmistakable way of recognizing Him, however. He arrived in our world as Jesus, who “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3). Christ is God’s exact representation. When we see Him, we have complete confidence that we’re seeing God. If we want to know what God is like—what He would say, how He would love—then we need only look and listen to Jesus. Are we truly hearing what “[God] has spoken” (v. 2) through Him? Are we actually following His truth? To be sure that we know how to recognize God, we fix our gaze on the Son and learn from Him.
Reflect & Pray When do you have trouble recognizing God’s voice? How does fixing your focus on Jesus help?
Dear God, I want to know Your voice and follow You. Please help me recognize You in Jesus.
圣子是……[上帝] 存在的准确代表。希伯来书 1:3
今日经文：希伯来书 1:1-4
今日心得：希伯来书1章简要介绍了上帝如何向我们显现。过去上帝“通过先知”说话（1节），但现在他“通过他的儿子对我们说话”（2节）。上帝对我们的最高启示是耶稣。希伯来书1章中耶稣被高举后，出现了几个警告段落中的第一个，警告不要拒绝圣子和他委托的人的信息（2:3）。圣子的启示也体现在马可福音 12章1-12节中基督的教导中。他用故事讲述了一个人种植了一个葡萄园，并派仆人（代表先知）去收割果实。当仆人被拒绝后，那人就打发“他所爱的儿子”（6节），即上帝的儿子耶稣，然而他们杀了他（8节）。基督在这里的教导也以拒绝儿子的话结束，“匠人所弃的石头”（10节）。
今日灵修 我飞往印度，一个我从未去过的地方，午夜后抵达班加罗尔机场。虽然收到大量电子邮件，但我不知道是谁来接我，也不知道在哪里和他相遇。我跟着人流来到行李领取处和海关，然后走进闷热的夜色中，试图在人海中找到一双友好的眼睛。我花了一个小时在人群前来回走动，希望有人能认出我。一个好心人终于走近了我。“你是温恩吗？”他问道。“很抱歉，我以为会认出你，你一直在我前面走来走去，但你看起来和我想象的不一样。”
我们经常会认不出我们应该认识的人或地方而感到困惑。然而，上帝提供了一种明确无误的方式来认出他。他以耶稣的身份来到我们的世界，他是“神荣耀所发的光辉，是神本体的真像”（希伯来书 1:3）。基督是上帝的真像。当我们看到他时，我们完全相信我们看到的是上帝。如果我们想知道上帝是什么样的，他会说什么，他会如何去爱，那么我们只需要看着耶稣，听着耶稣说的话。我们真的听到了“[上帝]通过他说的话”（2节）吗？我们真的在遵循他的真理吗？为了确保我们知道如何认出上帝，我们将目光集中在儿子身上，向他学习。
反思和祈祷 什么时候你会觉得很难认出上帝的声音？将注意力集中在耶稣身上会有什么帮助？
亲爱的上帝，我想辩识祢的声音并跟随祢。请帮助我在耶稣身上认出祢。