【双语灵修】成为光明之子BECOMING CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT

「『你们应当趁着有光，信从这光，使你们成为光明之子。』」-约 12:36

在约翰福音中，耶稣曾多次宣告祂是世界的光。这一意象旨在将我们带入创世的故事中，它仿佛在感叹：「在耶稣里，神创造了一个新的世界！」这个好消息令人难以置信！父神正在用祂儿子的光，回应人类漫长的罪恶历史，以及它遗留下来的黑暗。

在圣诞节期间，我们并非经常关注这个故事中新创造的一面。我们通常听到的是耶稣降生的奇妙事件，耶稣是「与我们同在的神」，以及天使和牧羊人如何在宣告耶稣到来过程中发挥的作用（太 1章；路 2章）。但新创造的一面也很重要。约翰将耶稣视为我们中间的光，这是一种再创造的语言。神正在做一件新事！

在我们今天关注的段落中，我们听到耶稣在呼唤我们做出决定。我们是否愿意相信祂，相信祂真的是来自神的光，预示着新创造的开始？我们是否愿意成为这新世界的儿女—既是神恩典的接受者，又是这新世界中神家里的代表？

我们受邀记念和庆祝耶稣的降生，因为我们是神新造的人，理当欢欣鼓舞。

祷告

神啊，感谢祢在耶稣里开始的新创造。在记念耶稣降生之际，请让我们心中生出喜乐的信心和渴望，活出祢儿女的样式。阿们。

约翰福音 12:35-36
35 耶稣对他们说：「光在你们中间还有不多的时候，应当趁着有光行走，免得黑暗临到你们。那在黑暗里行走的，不知道往何处去。 36你们应当趁着有光，信从这光，使你们成为光明之子。」

BECOMING CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT

“‘Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.’” - John 12:36

By this point in John’s gospel, Jesus has declared a couple of times that he is the light of the world. This image is intended to draw us into the creation story, as if to exclaim: “God is making a new creation in Jesus!” This is incredibly good news! God the Father is responding to the long history of human sin and its legacy of darkness with the light of his own Son.

We don’t often focus on this new-creation side of the story at Christmastime. We usually hear about the miraculous events that led to Jesus’ birth, that Jesus is “God with us,” and how the angels and shepherds played their parts in announcing Jesus’ arrival (Matthew 1; Luke 2). But the new-creation side is important too. John’s attention to Jesus as the light in our midst is re-creational language. God is doing something new!

In the passage we are focusing on today, we hear Jesus calling for a decision. Will we believe in him, trusting that he really is God’s light signaling the start of a new creation? Will we become children of that new creation—both as recipients of God’s grace and as family representatives of God’s new creation?

We are invited to remember and celebrate Jesus’ birth as people who are joyfully caught up in the arrival of God’s new creation.

Prayer

God, thank you for starting a new creation in Jesus. As we remember Jesus’ birth, grow in us a joyful faith and desire to live as your children. Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳