Partnership with God 与上帝同工
Dexu Xia
You give them something to eat. Mark 6:37
When my friend and her husband struggled to conceive, doctors recommended she have a medical procedure done. But my friend was hesitant. “Shouldn’t prayer be enough to fix our problem?” she asked. “Do I really need to do the procedure?” My friend was trying to work out what role human action has in seeing God work.
The story of Jesus feeding the crowd can help us here (Mark 6:35-44). We may know how the story ends—thousands of people are miraculously fed with just a little bread and some fish (v. 42). But notice who is to feed the crowd? The disciples (v. 37). And who provides the food? They do (v. 38). Who distributes the food and cleans up afterward? The disciples (vv. 39-43). “You give them something to eat,” Jesus said (v. 37). Jesus did the miracle, but it happened as the disciples acted.
A good crop is a gift from God (Psalm 65:9-10), but a farmer must still work the land. Jesus promised Peter “a catch” of fish but the fisherman still had to cast his nets (Luke 5:4-6). God can tend the earth and do miracles without us but typically chooses to work in a divine-human partnership.
My friend went through with the procedure and later successfully conceived. While this is no formula for a miracle, it was a lesson for my friend and me. God often does His miraculous work through the methods He’s placed in our hands. By: Sheridan Voysey
When are you tempted to pray without acting? What’s God calling you to act on right now?
Dear God, thank You for including me in Your amazing work. Please take what’s in my hands and do wonders through it.
你们给他们吃吧！—马可福音6章37节
我朋友和她丈夫一直面对不孕的问题，于是医生建议她接受一个医疗手术，但我朋友却犹豫不决。她说﹕“难道祈祷无法解决不孕的问题，我真的需要动手术吗？”我朋友想要清楚知道，人类的行动在上帝的工作中有什么作用。
从耶稣使五千人吃饱的神迹，可以帮助我们找到答案（马可福音6章35-44节）。我们或许都知道故事的结局：五个饼和两条鱼就很奇妙地让五千人吃饱了（42节）。但我们应留意是谁负责喂饱群众？是门徒（37节）。是谁找到食物？是门徒（38节）。是谁分发、收拾这些食物？是门徒（39-43节）。耶稣对门徒说﹕“你们给他们吃吧！”（37节）耶稣施行了神迹，而门徒以行动配合。
丰收固然是出于上帝的恩典（诗篇65篇9-10节），但农夫必须辛勤耕耘。耶稣告诉彼得“下网打鱼”，彼得就必须撒网（路加福音5章4-6节）。即使没有我们，上帝当然还是会滋润大地、施行神迹，但祂通常会选择与人同工。
我朋友最终完成了手术，后来成功受孕。虽然这不是经历神迹的公式，但对我和我朋友来说，这让我们领悟到：上帝常常透过祂赐给人类的方法，来成就祂的奇妙作为。
作者： 霍薛顿
你在什么时候会只想祈祷而不愿行动？
现在上帝正呼召你去做些什么？
亲爱的上帝，感谢祢让我参与祢奇妙的工作，
请使用我手中的一切行出祢奇妙的作为