十月二十四日[mp3_embed playlst=”/downloading/audio/evening/10/1024.mp3″]
经文: 祂……就洗门徒的脚。（约翰福音十三：5）
主耶稣是如此爱祂的儿女，祂每日为他们作许多事，例如洗他们沾满泥污的脚。祂接纳他们最软弱的行为；祂感受他们最深沉的忧伤；祂聆听他们最微小的愿望；祂饶恕他们每一过犯。祂是他们的仆人，也是他们的朋友和主人。当祂站立为他们恳求时，祂是伟大的；但是，祂也谦卑忍耐地拿着水盆和毛巾穿梭在祂的百姓之间。祂每日如此行，为了除去我们经常软弱和罪恶。昨晚，你祷告时，忧伤地承认自己有许多行为与基督徒这个名号不相称。甚至在今晚，你也为落入同样的罪恶而悲哀，而这罪在很久以前已经蒙恩得救了。然而，耶稣对你百般忍耐。祂听你认罪的祷告，祂说：“我肯，你洁净了吧。”（路五：13）祂将再次以宝血救赎，并使你心得平安。这是永恒之爱的伟大表现，基督接纳罪人，并使他们在上帝的家中有份。当救主忍受任性的门徒一再犯错时，那是多么大的忍耐啊！日复一日，每时每刻，祂洗净罪人的众多过犯，然而他们仍是祂所爱的人。使背逆的浪潮干涸是一件奇妙的事，但是要忍受重覆的冒犯，并忍受对耐心永不止息的试验，这实在是上帝的作为！藉着主每日的洁净，我们寻求安慰和平安，祂对我们的影响会叫我们更儆醒，并加强我们追求圣洁愿望。
Evening, October 24
Scripture: “He began to wash the disciples’ feet.”(John 13:5)
The Lord Jesus loves his people so much, that every day he is still doing for them much that is analogous to washing their soiled feet. Their poorest actions he accepts; their deepest sorrow he feels; their slenderest wish he hears, and their every transgression he forgives. He is still their servant as well as their Friend and Master. He not only performs majestic deeds for them, as wearing the mitre on his brow, and the precious jewels glittering on his breastplate, and standing up to plead for them, but humbly, patiently, he yet goes about among his people with the basin and the towel. He does this when he puts away from us day by day our constant infirmities and sins. Last night, when you bowed the knee, you mournfully confessed that much of your conduct was not worthy of your profession; and even tonight, you must mourn afresh that you have fallen again into the selfsame folly and sin from which special grace delivered you long ago; and yet Jesus will have great patience with you; he will hear your confession of sin; he will say, “I will, be thou clean”; he will again apply the blood of sprinkling, and speak peace to your conscience, and remove every spot. It is a great act of eternal love when Christ once for all absolves the sinner, and puts him into the family of God; but what condescending patience there is when the Saviour with much long-suffering bears the oft recurring follies of his wayward disciple; day by day, and hour by hour, washing away the multiplied transgressions of his erring but yet beloved child! To dry up a flood of rebellion is something marvellous, but to endure the constant dropping of repeated offences－to bear with a perpetual trying of patience, this is divine indeed! While we find comfort and peace in our Lord’s daily cleansing, its legitimate influence upon us will be to increase our watchfulness, and quicken our desire for holiness. Is it so?
