Choosing to Honor God 尊容上帝
Dexu Xia
To the faithful you show yourself faithful.Psalm 18:25
In the novella Family Happiness by Leo Tolstoy, main characters Sergey and Masha meet when Masha is young and impressionable. Sergey is an older, well-traveled businessman who understands the world beyond the rural setting where Masha lives. Over time, the two fall in love and marry.
They settle in the countryside, but Masha becomes bored with her surroundings. Sergey, who adores her, arranges a trip to St. Petersburg. There, Masha’s beauty and charm bring her instant popularity. Just as the couple is about to return home, a prince arrives in town, wanting to meet her. Sergey knows he can force Masha to leave with him, but he lets her make the decision. She chooses to stay, and her betrayal breaks his heart.
Like Sergey, God will never force us to be faithful to Him. Because He loves us, He lets us choose for or against Him. Our first choice for Him happens when we receive His Son, Jesus Christ, as the sacrifice for our sin (1 John 4:9–10). After that, we have a lifetime of decisions to make.
Will we choose faithfulness to God as His Spirit guides us or let the world entice us? David’s life wasn’t perfect, but he often wrote about keeping “the ways of the Lord” and the good outcomes that came from doing so (Psalm 18:21–24). When our choices honor God, we can experience the blessing David described: to the faithful, God shows Himself faithful.
When was the last time you made a difficult decision that honored God? How did it affect your relationship with Him?
Dear God, help me to honor You with the choices I make. Thank You for loving me faithfully throughout my life.
对忠信的人，祢显出祢的信实。—诗篇18篇25节，新普及译本
在托尔斯泰的中篇小说《家庭幸福》中，两位主角玛莎和谢尔盖相遇时，玛莎是个年轻且易受人影响的小姑娘，而谢尔盖则较年长，他是个周游各地的商人，熟悉玛莎的家乡以外的世界。相处久了，两人坠入爱河并结为连理。
他们在乡下定居，但玛莎很快对周遭环境感到厌倦。谢尔盖深爱玛莎，便安排去圣彼得堡旅行。在那里，玛莎的美丽和魅力使她大受欢迎。在他们即将返家之际，一位王子来到了圣彼得堡，他想会见玛莎。谢尔盖虽然可以强迫玛莎一起离开，但他让玛莎自己做决定。最后，玛莎选择留下，而她的背叛伤透了谢尔盖的心。
像谢尔盖一样，上帝也绝不会强迫我们忠于祂。祂因为爱我们，而让我们可以选择接受或拒绝祂。当我们接受祂的儿子耶稣基督为我们的罪作了挽回祭（约翰一书4章9-10节），就是我们接受祂而做的第一个选择。此后，我们一生都在做选择。
我们会选择顺服圣灵的引导，对上帝忠诚吗？还是会选择随从世界的引诱呢？大卫王虽然不是个十全十美的人，但他经常提及遵守“耶和华的道”，以及遵守之后带来的美好结果（诗篇18篇21-24节）。当我们选择要尊荣上帝时，也能经历大卫所描述的祝福：对忠信的人，上帝会展现祂的信实。
你曾在何时为了尊荣上帝而做出困难的决定？
这如何影响你和上帝的关系？
亲爱的上帝，求祢使我做的选择能够尊荣祢。
谢谢祢在我一生中都信实地爱着我。