[今日經文 Today’s Reading: 何西阿書 Hosea 7-10]
8:7 他們所栽種的是風，所收割的是暴風；禾稼不長穗，無以製成麵粉；即便製成，外邦人也必吞吃它。… 10:12 你們要為自己栽種公義，
何西阿書 Hosea 8:7;10:12
收割慈愛。你們要開墾荒地，現今正是尋求耶和華的時候；等他臨到，公義必如雨降給你們。
8:7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it… 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
在何西阿書第8章中，當以色列人離棄上帝時，說他們所有的努力都如同“在風中撒種”。 因此，他們會“收割的是暴風”（8:7）。 現在神告誡以色列人“要為自己栽種公義”，這樣他們就能“收割慈愛”。
我們撒種的時候，首先要“開墾荒地，因為現在正是尋求主的時候”。 當我們盡力準備我們的心，閱讀神的話語時，主“願降臨，使公義如雨降臨在我們身上”。 我們種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆！ 起初，我們可能看不出其中的區別，但時間會證明我們播下了什麼種子。 我們可以播種風，收割暴風，也可以栽種公義，收割慈愛。 我們今天的撒種決定明天的收割！
教育是最重要的播種工作之ㄧ，正如皮特·赫格斯在他的《美國思想之戰》一書中所描述的那樣：
我們孩子們的心靈戰場是他們在美國教室裡度過的從幼兒園到十二年級的 16,000 個小時……對於我們的孩子和我們的國家來說，這是一場長達 16,000 個小時的戰爭。 ……真正的戰場不是大學，而是幼兒園。
所有的小孩子都是天真又可愛的，但是我們通過教育在他們心中所投入的東西將會收穫其結果，無論是支持上帝還是反對上帝。 沒有中立的餘地。 長期以來，基督徒父母天真地把孩子送進政府控制的學校，接受與上帝話語相悖的教義訓練。 在美國華人教會中，我們“收割”的是，75%-90%*從小就參加教會的孩子最終都離開了教會，更重要的是，離開了他們的信仰。 事實上，我們播種的是風，收割的是暴風。 讓我們在孩子的教育中播下公義的種子，好收割慈愛！ 通過培養敬虔的一代，我們進一步祝福我們國家的所有人民。
禱告：親愛的上帝，請幫助我們在孩子身上播下公義的種子，這樣我們就能在他們長大後收割慈愛。 他們不僅會受到祝福，還會給周圍的人帶來祝福。 奉耶穌的名，阿門！
＊<21世紀使命門徒> 董家驊著
In Hosea 8, when the Israelites forsook God, it was said that all their efforts were like “sow[ing] in the wind”. Consequently, they would “reap the whirlwind” (8:7). Now God was admonishing the Israelites to “sow for yourselves righteousness” so that they would be able to “reap steadfast love”.
When sowing, we need to first “break up our fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord.” When we do our part to prepare our hearts, to read the Word of God, the Lord “may come and rain righteousness upon us”. We reap what we sow! At first, we may not see the difference, but time will show what we have sown. We can sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, or we can sow righteousness and reap steadfast love. Let us today decide to sow for righteousness!
Education is the most important work of sowing, as Pete Hegseth describes in his book Battle for the American Mind:
The battlefield for the hearts and minds of our kids is the 16,000 hours they spend inside American classrooms from kindergarten to twelfth grade … it’s the 16,000-hour war, for our kids and our country. … The real battlefield isn’t colleges; It’s kindergarten.
All young children are sweet and adorable, but what we put in their hearts through their education will reap its results either for God or against. There is no middle ground. For too long Christian parents have naively placed their children in government-controlled schools to be trained in teachings which oppose those in God’s Word. In the Chinese-American churches, what we have “reaped” is that 75%-90%* of children who grow up attending church end up leaving the church and, more importantly, their faith. Indeed we sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. Let us in contrast sow righteousness in our children’s education so we can reap steadfast love! By raising up a godly generation we furthermore bless all the people of our nation.
Prayer: Dear God, please help us to sow righteousness in our children so we can reap steadfast love when they are grown. Not only will they be blessed, but they will also bring goodness to all those around them. In Jesus name, Amen!
* Missional Discipleship by David Doong
