我們信心的核心

作者：Evelyn O. Shih    翻譯：以恩

有次我聽見一位牧師說，十字架不是我們信心的核心，復活才是。乍聽此言，令我感到有點出軌。難道十字架不是每一個教會的象徵記號嗎？難道我們不唱 "十字架上..."，使徒保羅不是說："因為我曾定了主意，在你們中間不知道別的，只知道耶穌基督並祂釘十字架"（林前2:2）？

但是當我在這主題上仔細思想後，我竟然發現那位牧師的話是正確的。 保羅不也曾說："若基督沒有復活，我們所傳的便是枉然，你們所信的也是枉然"（林前15:14）。

我們都知道，十字架只是個刑罰的工具。它是當年羅馬所使用的，最殘酷的執行死刑工具，成千上萬的人都曾被釘死在十字架上；倘若基督不曾復活，祂就只是那些被釘死中的一位，充其量也只能算是個烈士。

當然，祂在十字架上臨死前曾說了一些偉大的話。很多有名的人在他們死前也曾說過一些偉大的話。再說，倘若耶穌沒有從死裡復活，祂對那個強盜所說的話："今天你要同我一起在樂園裡了"，就是個謊言，或是給一個瀕死之人的虛假希望。但是因為祂的復活，那些話成為世代以來對我們的安慰和保證。

倘若基督不曾復活，祂就只是個放在書架上的歷史人物，祂一生的故事也將和其他的自傳化為黃頁一堆。耶穌已經復活了，並且要活到永遠，因此我們可以相信祂，並稱祂為我們的救贖主和我們的主。

只有在祂復活後，我們回頭看祂的死才有意義。十字架只是兩塊粗糙的木頭釘在一起，耶穌用祂的寶血使它成聖。因為祂復活了，十字架的光輝也照亮了全世界。

因此我們這些平常人，願意背起自己的十字架跟隨耶穌的人，在祂再次來臨時，也將會復活，並且享受永恒的生命。

The Center of Our Faith 
Written by Evelyn O. Shih

I once heard a pastor say that it is not the cross which is the center of faith, but resurrection. At first, I thought this statement was a bit off-track. Isn't the cross the sign of every church? Don't we sing "on the cross"? Didn't Paul say, "I know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified"?

When I meditated further on the topic, however, I discovered that what the pastor said was right. We can recall that Paul also said "if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."

We all know that the cross is merely an instrument of punishment. Although it was the cruelest instrument of death by execution during the time of the Romans, thousands of people had been nailed to crosses. If Christ has not been resurrected, He would have been only one of the executed. At the most, He was one of the martyrs.

Truly, he said some great words while dying on the cross. A lot of famous people have also said great words on their death beds. Furthermore, if Jesus had not risen from death, His words to the criminal, "Today you will be with me in Paradise" would be a lie or a false hope just to comfort a dying man. Because of His resurrection, however, this word proves to be a promise and assurance for all of us through the ages.

If He has not risen, He is only a historical figure to be put on the shelf and his life's story would eventually turn yellow with all the other biographies. Jesus has risen, however, and live forever so we can trust Him and claim Him as our redeemer and our Lord.

Only after His resurrection can we look back to the crucifixion with meaning. The cross was made of two coarse pieces of wood and Jesus used His blood to sanctify it. With His resurrection, the cross shines all around the world.

Therefore, we, the ordinary people, who are willing to follow Jesus with our own crosses can also be resurrected and enjoy the eternal life when He comes again.