We all ask for something in our lives that we can’t have. We may desperately (副詞:絕望地;拼命地) want it—think we need it—maybe we think we can’t live without it. Or maybe we just think that having this one thing will make life better, or at least suck less.
I’ve been reading Look and Live by Matt Papa and during his dispelling (動詞:驅散) of doubt he draws upon the most recognized story in the Bible: Adam and Eve. As we know, God gives Adam the entire freshly created Garden of Eden. He even gives Adam a suitable helper—a wife. I imagine they were joyfully tending (動詞:照料) the beautiful, lush (形容詞:茂盛的;蔥翠的) garden and watching over all the wild animals. Until, of course, a little sly serpent slides in and deceives (動詞:欺騙;蒙蔽) the pair, leaving them ashamed (動詞:羞愧) of their disobedience (名詞:不服從) to God’s command: don’t eat from that one tree…the tree of Knowledge.
That one tree. They were freely given all the fruitful trees in the entire (形容詞:全部;所有) garden, welcomed to eat from any of them, yet Adam and Eve end up focusing (動詞:聚焦) on just that one tree. That one tree God had said “no” to; that one tree Satan said “yes” to.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ And the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:2-4 ESV)
We all have that one tree. You know that one thing you keep asking God for? That boyfriend/girlfriend, that car, that nicer house, that one job, that one grad school acceptance, that child, that comfortable life. Yes, that one thing God is saying “no” to, but everything else keeps telling you “yes, it is good for you”. We are so easily deceived, getting stuck and focusing on the “no”. Just like Adam and Eve, who Matt says “let that poison (名詞:毒藥) go through their ears and into their hearts”, we believe so firmly when someone tells us that this one thing is good for us when God has already said “no”. It may be for this moment, or it may be forever, but God has said “no,” and we fall deeper into the poison the harder we fight against it.
And we often get so hung up on that little two-letter word. So much so that we forget about all the things in this world, and not in this world, God has already said “yes” to. All the “yeses” to loyal friends, good food, hipster (形容詞:時尚) coffee, a paying job, a comfy bed, ministries, and most importantly Christ Himself
Don’t let this “no”, distract (動詞:轉移…的注意力) you from all of “yeses” God has offered to you.
一生中，我們都會想得到一些我們不可以得到的東西。也許我們會渴望到一個程度，覺得沒有這東西，我們就活不下去。也許，我們會認為這東西可以讓我們的生活更好，至少也可以讓生活沒有這麼糟。
最近我在讀梅特波伯的《看著和活著》(Look and Live by Matt Papa) ，在驅散自己的疑惑時，他引用了聖經中最為人知的故事—亞當與夏娃的故事。大家都知道，上帝賜給亞當整個衪剛創造的伊甸園。衪給亞當一個最合適的幫手，他的太太。我可以想像他們是帶著喜樂來照料這座美麗、茂盛的花園，來看顧所有的動物。直到狡詐的蛇滑來蒙蔽他們，使他們因不順從神的命令，吃下分別善惡樹的果子，而感到羞愧。
就是那一棵樹！神给他們花園中一切的果樹，他們可以隨便吃。然而，亞當和夏娃只專注在那一棵樹上，一棵神說「不」能吃，撒旦說「可以」吃的那一棵樹。
撒旦對那女人說：“你們的神豈是真說，不許你們吃園中所有樹上的果子嗎？” 女人對蛇說：“園中樹上的果子我們可以吃，惟有園當中那棵樹上的果子，不可吃，也不可摸，免得你們死。”蛇對女人說：“你們不一定死。”（創世紀3：2－4）
我們每個人心中都有那棵樹，就是我們不斷求神賜給我們的東西，也許是那個男／女朋友，那輛車，那棟較好的房子，那職業，那家研究所，那個孩子，那類舒適生活。對！就是上帝說：「不」，旁人偏說「好」的那東西。我們都很容易被騙，膠著和專注在“不” 之上，就好像梅特所形容的亞當和夏娃一樣：「任憑邪惡浸透他們的耳朵，然後他們的心」。當上帝早已跟我們說「不」的時侯，我們卻堅定地相信別人對我們說，這是對我們好的。也許這東西在這一刻，甚至到永遠，都是好的，可是，上帝已經說「不」，我們還是中了毒，而且越中越深至難以抗拒。
我們都會被那個小小的「不」字，弄到心緒不寧，以致我們把世內和世外，神已經給我們一切那些「可以」的統統忘記。我們忘記了身邊那些忠誠的朋友、美味的食物、時尙的咖啡、有薪的工作、舒適的床和美好的事奉，最重要的是，我們把基督也忘了。
因此，不要讓那個「不」，轉移了你的注意力，使你看不到神給你所有的「可以」。
◎ Samantha Ho
◎ 翻譯：Patricia Fu/秦黃業玲