我们通常都不喜欢冲突和紧张的局势。无论是出现在组织、企业、家庭、友谊关系中，或者是在教会里，冲突真的会把事情搞糟。但如果我们能重新调整紧张局势，冲突是否能创造新的机会呢？
在快速增长的耶稣跟随者的群体中，局势变得有点紧张。有些人感情受到了伤害，有些人感到被忽视，有些人开始抱怨不公。换个说法，就是“发牢骚”。如果你听过神的子民从埃及出来后在旷野徘徊的故事，你就知道他们很快就开始在群体中抱怨了（出16章）。
我们在使徒行传这一事件所看到的，是一个分配服事责任的案例。这个社区已经发展得很大，是时候任命一班领袖来共同承担一些尚未被满足的需求了。
如果我们花时间来研究紧张的局势，我们就可能发现新的机会。抱怨是很容易的，找到可以抱怨的人也很容易。但如果我们退后一步，转换另一个角度看待问题，我们或许会发现一个机会，从而开始一些美好的事。
在我的生活中，我经常让抱怨阻碍了神想要教导或启示给我的真谛。我们该如何重新审视我们正在经历的事？在冲突和张力中可能会产生什么新的局面呢？
神啊，请帮助我们从抱怨中解脱出来，让我们看到你要教导我们的新事。阿们。
使徒行传 6:1-6
1那时，门徒增多，有说希腊话的犹太人向希伯来人发怨言，因为在天天的供给上忽略了他们的寡妇。
2十二使徒叫众门徒来，对他们说：“我们撇下神的道去管理饭食，原是不合宜的。
3所以弟兄们，当从你们中间选出七个有好名声、被圣灵充满、智慧充足的人，我们就派他们管理这事。
4但我们要专心以祈祷、传道为事。”
5大众都喜悦这话，就拣选了司提反，乃是大有信心、圣灵充满的人；又拣选腓利、伯罗哥罗、尼迦挪、提门、巴米拿，并进犹太教的安提阿人尼哥拉。
6叫他们站在使徒面前，使徒祷告了，就按手在他们头上。
"Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them." - Acts 6:3
We don’t often enjoy tension. Whether it’s in an organization, a business, a family, a friendship, or even a church, tension can really mess with things. But what if we can refocus the tension and see if it creates a new opportunity?
Things were getting a bit tense in the fast-growing group of Jesus’ followers. Feelings were hurt, some people were left out, and some of them began to complain. Another word for this is “grumbling.” If you have heard the story of God’s people wandering in the desert after being freed from Egypt, you know that it did not take long for them to start grumbling (Exodus 16).
What unfolds in this moment in Acts is an opportunity to decentralize the responsibilities of serving. The community has grown so large that it’s time to appoint leaders who can help take care of some needs that aren’t being met.
When we take time to sit in the tension, we are able to see new opportunities. It’s easy to grumble. It’s also easy to find some people to grumble with. But if we step back and look at things from another angle, we might see an opportunity to start something beautiful.
Too often in my life I have let the grumbling get in the way of what God may want to teach or reveal to me. How can we reframe what we are going through? What new thing might arise from the tension?
God, please help us break free from complaining, and let us see what new things you are trying to teach us. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
