祝您有一個開心的中國年
作者：Dr. Clement S.L.Yeung / 中譯：以恩
在 2007 年的年底，我求神在即將來臨的一年裡給我一個字或一個主題。有一天，有一個特別的字在心裡出現：愉快。我那時不大明白這個字有何特別的意義。在那天之後，我收到一個在多倫多的老友的一封信，他在三年前就退休了，退休後他和妻子到處旅行，可以說去環遊世界了。
在他的信裡，他強調到處旅遊三年之後，他突然覺得自己很需要一個假期。他的妻子以為他在開玩笑，她說："在過去的三年裡，我們不是天天在度假嗎？"他回答："我知道，但是這一次我真的想做一些我真真正喜歡做的事情。" 當他的妻子問他真正想做何事時，他很誠實地回答："我還不知道，我需要去探索。"
當我們在做自己喜歡做的事情時，我們會覺得很開心。我想那就是我朋友所說的，他想 "去做自己喜歡做的事情之意。" 在那三年的旅遊之中，他很可能玩得很開心，但那卻不是他真正喜歡做的事情。
當我打開 2008 年 一/二 月份的門徒訓練日誌時，裡面有一篇本帕特森寫的文章談到 delight(開心/愉快)，我且簡錄一段於下：
我們基督徒經常會談到和探討喜樂，但我們若不能明白最深的喜樂來自神，和與神同行，所有的探討就都不完全。在神裡面的快樂，是來自我們發現神的美好和超越，神性的榮耀之光輝，因而產生感激和無比的欣悅。
當我們嚐到那種欣悅時，我們就會渴望更加親近神。就像克萊爾沃的伯納德所言： "當我們感受到祢藉著地球給予的賜福時，我們就再次轉向祢"。喬納森愛德華茲將這種經歷描述為 "被吞噬進神的裡面"。
我不是神學家，只是一個尚在學習者。詩人說：(義人) "喜愛(delight)耶和華的律法(詩1:2) "。又說，"要以耶和華為樂(delight)，他就將你心裡所求的賜給你(詩37:4) "。從這些經文裡，我學到開心(delight)的三件事。第一，我能開心是因為神；第二，我開心的源頭來自神的律法；第三，尋找到使自己開心的事是一種探險之旅，我必須在主裡以自己為樂(delight)，沒有人能幫我做到此事。
當我們跟隨詩人的經驗時，將會發現喜樂不是一件事，而是一個人。即使在苦難中，約伯還是如此回答他的朋友們："他(不敬虔的人)豈以全能者為樂，隨時求告神呢？(伯27:10)"
就我的朋友想到探索他真正喜歡的事，我也盼望大家都能在愛我們的神裡以祂為樂。祝您有一個開心的中國年!
Have a Delightful Chinese New Year !
Dr. Clement S.L.Yeung
At the close of 2007, I asked God to give me a word or a theme for the coming year. Then one day, a special word popped up in my mind: delight. I must confess that I was not familiar with its meaning. The following day I received an email from an old friend in Toronto. Since his retirement some three years ago, he and his wife did a lot of traveling, literally around the world.
In his email, he made a very strange comment. He said that after being a world-trotter for almost three years, he suddenly felt that he needed a holiday. His wife thought he was just joking. "But we have been on holidays for the past three years," she exclaimed. "I know, but this time I want to do something I really like," he answered. When his wife asked him what he really liked to do, he gave this amazing yet honest reply, "I don't know but I need to find out."
We delight in things that we enjoy doing. I suppose that is what my friend meant by "something he really likes". He probably had a lot of fun during the three years of travel but he did not find his delight.
When I open the January/ February 2008 issue of Discipleship Journal, there is an article by Ben Patterson on delight and I quote:
As Christians, we talk and explore joy, but any exploration of joy is incomplete if we do not understand that, at its deepest, joy is delight for God and with God... To delight in God is to see something of His excellence and beauty – the splendor of His "God-ness" and to gratefully exult in the sight.
When we have tasted such delight, we thirst after God for more. As Bernard of Clairvaux puts it, "From the best bliss that earth imparts, we turn unfilled to You again." Jonathan Edwards describes such experience as being "swallowed up in God".
I am no theologian and I am still working on my preliminaries. The psalmist says, "But (for the righteous) his delight is in the law of the Lord." (Ps. 1:2) and "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your hearts." (Ps. 37:4) From these verses, I learned three things about delight. First, the reason of my delight is the Lord. Second, the source of my delight is the law of the Lord. Thirdly, finding delight is a personal venture. I need to delight myself in the Lord. No one can do it for me.
When we follow the experience of the psalmist, we will quickly find out that joy is not a thing but a person. Even in his sufferings, Job gives this answer to his friends, "Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?" (Job 27:10)
Just like my friend who needs to find out what he really likes, I pray that all of us will find delight in the Lord who delights in us. Have a delightful Chinese new year !