As Chuck Swindoll put it, a person has two important days in their life. The first is the day they were born, their birthday. And the second, the day that they discover the reason for which they were born. In other words, the first is the when we are born and the second is the why we were born.
Often times we go about our lives trying to discover (動詞:尋找發覺,發現) the meaning and the purpose we have here on earth. For some, they look for answers in the world around them. This could be in the pleasures (名詞:樂趣,快樂) and treasures (名詞:財富,寶藏) of life or the fame (名詞:名聲) and status. Others look for answers and meaning in the emotional and tangibles (形容詞:看得見,實質), like relationships and community. On the opposite end, others ignore this question entirely and simply place the existence (名詞:存在) of oneself and the entire humankind in mere biological (形容詞:生物的) coincidence (名詞:巧合). However, for many we are forced to face this persistent (形容詞:堅持的,執意的) question in our lives because of the pain and suffering one may experience simply from existing. Life comes with sickness and death, heartaches (名詞:痛心,傷心) and brokenness.
Why am I here? What am I created for?
At every stage in life, these questions come up over and over again. Whether it is the transition into college and higher education and being forced to “major” (名詞:美式用語,大學主修科) in something or the transition (名詞:過渡,轉變,變遷) into finding work, we are plastered (動詞:貼著) with thoughts on these questions. We begin to look into our passions and likings to discover what we would enjoy doing. Then we start looking into our talents and skills and figure out what we are good at doing. However, the question comes up in every person’s life, at every stage in life…what does God want me to do? What is his will?
Whether it is explicit (形容詞:清楚明確的) or revealed (形容詞:展現,顯露) that is another fact, but God has a pre-ordained will and predestined(動詞:注定、命定)reign(動詞:主宰,統冶)over everyone’s life. This is true, whether you believe in Him or not. God, in His grace, has set out a plan for the salvation of all who believe in Jesus and the perfect work He accomplished (動詞:完成,成就) on the cross and through the grave. From grace to glory, God has one dominant (形容詞:重大的,突出的) goal and that is to make us like Jesus and to conform us to his likeness. However, in this hanging balance of God’s sovereignty (名詞:主權) and man’s responsibility, the nagging questions still comes up. What is God’s will for my life? If we are to trust that we are truly God’s workmanship created to do good works (Ephesians 2:10), then we are to understand we were created with a purpose.
How blessed is that day that we discover why were born! At this point of this writing, I wish I had an answer or a method or simply a formula to figure(動詞:想出,理解,明白) all that out. But the reality is this, everyone’s path is different and everyone’s story is unique. Although all of our themes are the same, that being God sanctifying (動詞:使神聖化,使聖潔化) us, the means in which He does it is different. I wish there was a way to succinctly (副詞:簡潔地,簡便地) discover what God’s will is for each of us, but the blessed truth is that there is not one way.
The encouragement, however, is to pray for God to do his work. That in our prayers we are not trying to conform or change the will of God, rather He is conforming our hearts to what He has in store. So, keep looking and testing and approving (動詞:讚許的,贊成的) to discover if it is truly the will of God (Romans 12:2). Hold your plans against the perfect word of God in the Scriptures and see it either crumble(動詞:減弱,崩潰) or multiply(動詞:繁殖).
And may we all come to find that second important day in our lives.
◎ C.B. Young 翁嘉怡
溫道爾牧師曾說過：人的一生有兩個重要日子，第一個是他們出生之日，也就是生日﹔第二個就是他們找到自己為何而活的那一天。換而言之，第一個重要日子，就是我們誕生的那天，第二個重要日子，就是我們得知自己為什麼生於世上的那一天。
多少時侯，我們都在忙於尋找我們在地球上存活的目的和意思。有些人嘗試在自己身處的環境中找尋答案，可能是財富享樂，或是名譽地位；也有人往情感和實體的東西中鑽，如人際關係和社會團體等。另一端，有些人會完全把這問題拋諸腦後，直接了當地把一己及全人類的存生，塞到生物界機緣巧合的框框裡。然而，生命中種種痛楚的經歷，往往都會逼使大多數的我們，去面對這個揮之不去的問題。疾病、死亡、傷痛，和破碎是隨著生命而來的！我為何生於世上？我被造所為何因？
在人生不同的階段，這問題都會重複又重複地出現。不管是升讀大學或更高的學位，或是被迫去選擇「主修科」、或是畢業後要找工作，我們的思緒總會被這些問題緊緊纏著。我們開始從自己的喜好、自己的熱誠來看看什麼是自己愛做的。然後，我們會按著自己的天份和技巧來衡量自己的專長。然而，問題還是會在每一個人的生命，每一個人生的轉捩點中出現…..上帝究竟想要我怎樣做？上帝的旨意是什麼？
不管是清晰的、或是啟示的，另一個事實就是每一個生命，都在神的掌管下，都有著神預定的計劃。不管您相信神與否，這是個真理。神在衪的恩典中，為一切信靠耶穌，並衪那藉著十字架及墳墓而成就的完備善工的人，預備了救贖。從恩典到榮耀，神只有一個重要的目的，乃是要我們像基督並活出衪的樣式。但，在神的主權和人的責任那懸著的平衡中，這惱人的問題，仍然不斷纏擾著我們–我為何生於世上？我被造所謂何因？如果我們確實相信，「我們原是衪的工作」(以弗所書2:10) ，那麼我們就會明白，我們受造帶著目的的！
找到我們為何而生的那日，是蒙福的一日。行筆至此，我盼望我能有一個答案、一套方法，或是簡簡單單的一個方程式，來解釋這一切。然而，事實是每個人的道路都不儘相同，每個人的故事都是獨一無二的。雖然，主題相同，然而，為要使我們成聖，衪用的方法卻因人而異。我盼望能有一條途徑能簡潔地查出神在我們每個人身上的旨意，但，神聖的真理告訴我們，根本沒有這樣的一條途徑。
然而，令人鼓舞的是，我們可以為神的工作來禱告。我們的禱告並不是要去認同或改變神的心意，乃是求神幫助我們去察驗衪在我們身上的旨意。因以，繼續尋找、和察驗何為神純全的旨意吧(羅馬書12:2)！用神在聖經中完全的話作您計劃的準繩，來驗證，看看這計劃是潰不成軍，還是生生不息。
願我們都能找到人生最重要的第二天！
◎ 翻譯：秦黃業玲