谈到牺牲，便要视乎一个人所付出的难度有多少，来作衡量。在路加福音 21:4中，耶稣告诉我们，那位奉献两个小钱的寡妇，牺牲的比其他人更多，因为她把她所有的都献上了。
在玛拉基的时代，百姓不单吝啬他们对圣殿的献祭（玛拉基书 1:7），他们更不肯牺牲个人的私欲，好让自己有能力照顾妻子和儿女。如果这些男子为了供养家人，才吝啬对神献上衪配得的，在神眼中则看为别论，但事实上，这些人连对家人也是自私自利的。
神美妙地彰显衪的慈爱和信实。衪告诉以色列人，如果他们不好好照顾自己的家人，衪也不会悦纳他们的献祭。多少神的子民，竟然把这个次序倒转了，他们为了事业、甚至为了教会事奉，以致忽视了婚姻和家庭。我的一位神学院教授曾说过，神也时常要求我们的家人作出牺牲，但衪从来不会叫我们牺牲我们的家人。
这句话正符合今天经文的意思。我们若没有尽力为家人提供物质上、感情上，和灵性上的需要，我们便是对抗神的旨意了。你没有任何藉口可以这样做。
亲爱的耶稣，求祢救我们脱离自私自利的态度，帮助我们效法祢去爱我们的家人，并且首先为他们牺牲。又求祢让我们还有剩余的爱，去帮助其他人。奉耶稣名祷告，阿们。
玛拉基书 2:13-14
13你们又行了一件这样的事，使前妻叹息哭泣的眼泪遮盖耶和华的坛，以致耶和华不再看顾那供物，也不乐意从你们手中收纳。"The LORD is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her. . . ." — Malachi 2:14
Sacrifice is measured by difficulty. Jesus tells us in Luke 21:1-4 that the widow who gave two small coins sacrificed more than all the others did, because she gave all she had.
In Malachi's day not only were people skimping on their temple sacrifices (Malachi 1:7); they couldn't even sacrifice their desires in order to take care of their wives and children. It would have been one thing in God's eyes for men to skimp on what God deserved in order to take care of their families. But the men were also actually being unfaithful to their families.
It is an amazing display of the loving faithfulness of God that he tells the men of Israel that he won't accept their sacrifices if they don't take care of their families. Far too many of God's people have gotten it backwards, neglecting their marriage and family for the sake of their career or even the church. One of my seminary professors once said that God will often ask our families to make sacrifices, but God will never ask us to sacrifice our families.
That statement lines up with this verse. When we are unfaithful to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our families, we are living outside of God's will. And there's never an excuse for that.
Dear Jesus, save us from our selfishness. Help us to love our families the way you love them and to sacrifice ourselves first for them. Please also let us have much left over to give for others. Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳
