在电影《温柔乡》中，一个男人和一个小男孩接受了洗礼。之后，男孩说：“大家都说我会感觉到自己被改变了。我想我的确感觉有点不同，但我并没有觉得有很大的不同。你有吗？”那个男人回答道：“还没有。”
这是一段迷人的、轻松的对话，但它涉及到关于基督徒生活的一些真实情况。当你被耶稣救赎，或者当你接受洗礼作为你得救的记号时，你不会立即成为一个好人。我们甚至会发现，有时非基督徒比一些基督徒更善良或更慷慨。
《圣经》解释说，圣灵在每个人的生命中都在工作。一个人被耶稣改变，这个过程是渐进的。这个人的生命开始改变，变得更加美丽——它可能发生得太缓慢，以至于我们几乎注意不到。但《罗马书》第5章应许说，圣灵现在和将来都在工作，无论顺境还是逆境。圣灵甚至会使用我们生活中的苦难来塑造我们，使我们成为忍耐、老练、有盼望的人。
如果你已经委身要跟随耶稣，你可能还没有感觉到有什么不同。但你可以相信，圣灵正在你的生命中工作。
圣灵啊，求你改变我，使我更像耶稣。你已经在我的生命中持续稳定地动工，求你赐给我耐心，使我的生命成为神对我的爱的美丽彰显。阿们。
罗马书 5:1-5
1我们既因信称义，就藉着我们的主耶稣基督得与神相和。
2我们又藉着他，因信得进入现在所站的这恩典中，并且欢欢喜喜盼望神的荣耀。
3不但如此，就是在患难中也是欢欢喜喜的。因为知道患难生忍耐，
4忍耐生老练，老练生盼望，
5盼望不至于羞耻，因为所赐给我们的圣灵将神的爱浇灌在我们心里。
"God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." - Romans 5:5
In the film Tender Mercies, a man and a young boy are baptized. Afterward, the boy says, "Everybody said I was gonna feel like a changed person. I guess I do feel a little different, but I don't feel a whole lot different. Do you?" The man responds: "Not yet."
It's a charming, light-hearted conversation, but it gets at something true about the Christian life. When you are saved by Jesus, or when you are baptized as a sign of your salvation, you do not instantly become a good person. We even notice that sometimes non-Christians are more kind or more generous than some Christians are.
The Bible explains that the Holy Spirit is at work in every person's life. When a person is being transformed by Jesus, the process is gradual. The person's life begins to change, to become more beautiful—and it might happen so slowly that we barely notice it. But Romans 5 promises that the Holy Spirit is at work both now and in the future, in good times and in bad. The Spirit uses even the suffering in our lives to shape us into people of perseverance, character, and hope.
If you have committed to following Jesus, you might not feel different yet. But you can trust that the Holy Spirit is working in your life.
Holy Spirit, change me to make me more like Jesus. Give me patience with your steady work in my life. Make my life a beautiful reflection of God's love for me. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
