好好利用你的失败

作者：Graham Cooke

翻译：John Doong

日期：2004, 6, 2

http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/2207

What we think about God is the single, most important thing in the world. How we perceive Him will dictate how we live our life. How we see ourselves in relation to Him will orchestrate all that we are and do in this world.

我们心中对神的看法是这世上唯一最重要的事情。我们对神的感受将会决定我们如何过我们的生活。我们如何看待我们与神的关，将会主导我们在这世上成为何种人与作哪些事！

We live in a success-driven world. So, in particular, seeing any failure in relation to the heart of God is absolutely vital. God is love, and the nature of that love must be the driving force behind everything that we do or attempt.

我们活在一个以成功为导向的世界。了解神的心中是如何看待失败，绝对是一件非常重要的事！神就是爱，而这样爱的本质必须是我们一切所作所尝试的原动力！

God is not human. He is the sum of everything. He is not just the Creator of the world - He is the Creator of all things, including love. He does all things well, including love. His standard for everything is excellence. The benchmark for success in the Kingdom of God is so high no one can reach it without His input. And yet He chooses mostly failures to represent Him.

神并不是人类。他是万物的总合。他不单单是这世界的创造者，他是一切所有的创造者，包括爱！他作万事都很好，包括爱。他对所有事物的标准是卓越。在神的国度衡量成功的基准点是如此的高，以至於除非神的介入任何人都不可能达到。然而他却仍拣选多数的失败者来作为他的代表。

"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in Hs presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption - that, as it is written 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.'" (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 NKJV)

「弟兄们哪，可见你们蒙召的，按着肉体有智慧的不多，有能力的不多，有尊贵的也不多。神却拣选了世上愚拙的，叫有智慧的羞愧。又拣选世上软弱的，叫那强壮的羞愧。神也拣选世上卑贱的，被人厌恶的，以及那无有的，为要废掉那有的。使一切有血气的，在神面前一个也不能自。但你们得在基督耶稣，是本乎神，神又使他成为我们的智慧、公义、圣洁、救赎。如经上所记，口的当指着主口。」（林前一26~31）

So it's official. God loves a failure!

因此，这是公认的，神喜欢失败！

"He Does Not Need to Be Seen in the 'Right' Places with the 'Right' People" 他不需要与对的人出现在对的地方！

He did not want the beauty of His nature and the glory of His kingdom solely to be represented by the great, the good, and the clever. He did not want a Who's Who of humanity to portray His own magnificence.

他不愿意单单让那些伟大的、好的、聪明的人来代表他美丽的属性与国度的荣耀。他不需要透过某某人的人性来描绘他的伟大。

He does not need to be seen in the right places with the right people. Jesus was criticized viciously for hanging out with the very people that society detested. He chose to become despised and rejected. God does not have an image problem.

他不需要与对的人出现在对的地方。耶稣因为与那些被社会唾弃的人在一起而遭致批评。他选择让自己被轻视与拒绝。上帝并没有自我形象的困扰！

He chose people who had a history of failure. He picked people who had a history of not learning and who repeated their mistakes continuously.

他拣选过去曾失败的人。他选择那些失学的，那些不断重犯错的人。

God chooses people who were despised as being stupid, by people who should know better. He accepted people who would require lots of training just to be normal, let alone successful.

神拣选那些遭受自以为有智慧的，轻视为愚拙的人。他接纳那些要非常努力训练才会变得稍微正常的人，更别提成功了。

He chose them because He wanted to love them in such a way that they would always be safe and whole...whether they were successful or not.

他拣选他们，因为神要爱他们，让他们无论在成功或失败都感到自己是安全与被完整接纳的。

He chose them so that His love for them could heal them of their foolishness. He has a wonderful capacity to enjoy us in our weaknesses. He has a plan to make us successful through failure.

他拣选他们以至於神对他们的爱可以医治他们的愚昧。神有奇妙的宽容可以来享受我们的软弱。他有一个计画来让我们经由失败得以成功。

We can fail successfully or we can fail badly.

我们可以失败的很成功，或者我们可以失败的很糟！

To fail successfully, we need to know who we are in Jesus.

要有成功的失败，我们需要去知道我们在耶稣的身分。

"Our Mistakes Are Already Covered"

我们的过错已经被遮盖

We are in Christ, and He is in us. The Father has a plan for our personality as much as He has a design for changing our character to make us more like himself. A big part of that plan, therefore, is to love us in exactly the same way that He loves Jesus. We are not loved when we succeed in Christ. We are loved fully because we are in Him. God loved us powerfully when we were lost in sin.

我们在基督，他也在我们里面。天父对我们的人格有一个计画，他设计要改变我们的品格让我们更像他自己。这计画当中很大的一部分，是他要完全照着他爱耶稣的方式来爱我们。我们并非因为在基督成功才被爱。我们被爱完全只是因为我们在他里面。当我们还迷失在罪当中时，神大能的爱就已经爱我们。

We fail successfully when we realize that our mistakes are already covered. No matter how well or badly our life is going, we learn to live under the smile of God. Know that in the love of God we cannot fail. We can only make mistakes, and every mistake has already been covered by the cross.

当我们了解我们的过犯已经被遮盖时，我们才能成功地失败。无论我们生活过的顺利或是糟糕，我们学习活在神的微笑当中。因为我们知道在神的爱中我们无法失败。我们只能犯错，然而每个过错在十字架上都已经被遮盖。

Where were you when Jesus died? You had no existence. All our sins and mistakes were in the future, and they were covered by that one incredible act of sacrificial love. All our past, present, and future sins and mistakes have already been covered. Our future has been secured in the love of God. Shame is not on God's agenda for us. He allows us the wonder and joy of repentance - literally "to think again," to think differently, and to become what we think about.

当耶稣死在十架时你在哪里呢？你甚至还没有存在！在当时我们所有的过犯都还在”未来”，然而他们都已经被那次不可置信的牺牲之爱所遮盖！所有我们过去、现在、未来的罪都已经被遮盖。我们的未来已经在神的爱中安稳。对神而言，羞耻不是我们的议题。他给我们悔改的美妙与喜乐，基本上悔改就是”重新思考”，心意更新而变化，然後我们要变成我们所思考的。

"Loving Learning Enables Us to Become Wise and Also Beloved" 拥抱学习让我们成为有智慧及被爱的

We fail successfully when we discover that God wants us to love the learning that exists in every situation. All forms of accountability are about loving the learning that is present in every circumstance. That learning produces the fruit of self control, which in turn guarantees lasting change.

当我们发现神要我们拥抱存在於每一个情境的学习机会，我们才可以成功地失败。责任感的所有形式都是关乎我们是否拥抱存在於各种环境下的学习机会。学习可以产生自我控制的果子，这果子会保我们有持续的改变。

God knows that when we do things for the first time, we learn how not to do it. Loving the learning in every situation enables us to become wise and also beloved. Wise - because we learn from our mistakes and grow. Beloved - because our sense of acceptance comes from being in Christ and not from our ability or performance. Therefore, if we fail at something, we can still grow in the love of God. The joy of repentance and the beauty of God's unchanging nature guarantees forgiveness and acceptance.

神知道当我们第一次作某些事时，我们习惯不去作它。拥抱在每一个情境下的学习机会，会使我们成为有智慧及被爱的。有智慧：是因为我们从我们的错误中学习及成长。被爱：是因为我们越来越明白我们被接纳是因为我们在主，而非因为我们的能力或成就。因此，即便当我们失败时，我们仍然持续在神的爱中成长。悔改的喜乐及神亘古不变的属性让我们确信神的饶恕与接纳。

"God Does Not Get Disillusioned With Us"

神不会对我们感到幻灭！

We fail successfully when we realize that God is not even remotely embarrassed by our weaknesses. He defends us to all our detractors. He is not ashamed to call us brethren. We are in Christ and cannot be condemned (Romans 8). The One who loves us the best, knows us the best. God does not get disillusioned with us because He had no illusions in the first place!

当我们了解到神根本不会躲在远远地对我们的软弱感到难堪，我们就可以成功的失败。他为我们向所有的毁谤者辩护。他并不耻於称我们为弟兄。我们在基督就不再被定罪（罗马书八章）。这位最爱我们的神，了解我们最深！神对我们不会感到幻灭，因为他打从一开始就没有幻觉。

We fail successfully when we allow ourselves to be comforted. Our mentor is the Holy Spirit who helps us to laugh at ourselves. He is the Comforter sent to lead us into all truth. When we are embarrassed at the truth of our current mindset or behavior, He comforts us so that we are not paranoid about screwing up. Then He helps us with the learning. Every test is repeatable. We cannot fail the tests of God because we get to take them again…and again…and again, until we pass. Even in the consequences of our action, the love of God reaches out to cover, protect, and nurture us in our wounded-ness

当我们允许自己被人安慰时，我们就失败的很成功。圣灵是我们的导师，他会帮助我们自嘲。他是神差遣给我们的保慧师，带领我们进入一切的真理。当我们因为发现自己目前的光景(无论是心思意念或是行为)而感到难堪时，圣灵安慰我们免得我们以为自己搞砸了一切而过度自责。他帮助我们继续学习。每一个测验都是可以持续重的。我们不可能在神的考试中被当掉，因为神会不断地让我们补考，直到最後我们终於通过测验。即便是在我们错误行动所导致的後果中，神的爱仍然会伸向我们，遮盖、保护，并滋养我们的伤处。