【帖前5:12-13】 弟兄们，我们劝你们敬重那在你们中间劳苦的人，就是在主里面治理你们、劝戒你们的； 又因他们所做的工，用爱心格外尊重他们。你们也要彼此和睦。【1Thess 5:12-13】Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

世人一生劳苦，多是为自己和自己的家庭。神忠心的仆人劳苦，却是为跟自己没有血缘关系的他人、灵魂永恒的益处。People in the world spend their lives toiling mainly for themselves and for their own families. God’s faithful servants, however, labour for others who are not related to them by blood, for the eternal good of souls. 保罗劝勉信徒要敬重那在主里治理、劝戒我们，为此付上代价的神的仆人们，且要用爱心格外尊重他们。Paul urges believers to respect those who labour among them in the Lord, who lead and admonish them, and who pay a real cost for this calling, and to hold them in the highest regard in love. 他们回应主的呼召，不为名，不为利，日日操劳，常常被论断、误会，甚至被诽谤、被人恨…仍然不退缩，因他们知道在主里的劳苦不是徒然的。These servants respond to God’s call not for status or reward; they work day after day, often facing judgement, misunderstanding, even slander and hatred, yet they do not shrink back, because they know that labour in the Lord is never in vain.

保罗传福音，建立教会，治理教会，指正信徒的罪恶，也要面对羊群的各种论断、质疑、挑战，承受各种苦楚，格外劳苦，甚至舍命也愿意，因他知道主恩浩大。Paul preached the gospel, planted churches, shepherded churches, and confronted sin among believers. At the same time, he faced constant judgement, questioning, and challenge from the flock, endured great suffering, laboured far beyond the ordinary, and was even willing to lay down his life, because he knew the greatness of the Lord’s grace. 一代又一代忠心的神仆人们，甘心劳苦，全年无休，随时待命，牧养守护群羊，甚至跟攻击羊群的“狼”舍命争战，为群羊作榜样…这样的劳苦，不是理所当然的。他们值得我们用爱心格外尊重。Generation after generation, God’s faithful servants have willingly laboured without rest, remaining available at all times, shepherding and guarding the flock, even risking their lives to stand against the “wolves” that attack the sheep, and becoming examples to them. This kind of labour should never be taken for granted. They are worthy of being honoured all the more in love.

主啊，你是好牧人，你在地上天天到处奔走、没日没夜地废寝忘食、为羊舍命。当年门徒无人能懂耶稣的心，但后来他们明白并跟随了耶稣。Lord, You are the Good Shepherd. When You were on earth, You went everywhere day after day, tirelessly, giving Yourself without rest, and laying down Your life for the sheep. At that time, none of the disciples truly understood Jesus’ heart, but later they came to understand and followed Him. 今天我们的牧人也效法跟随了耶稣，但牧人也是血肉之躯，会累，会病，会精力耗尽…主啊，求你赦免我总觉得自己是小小孩，索取牧人的照顾是理所当然的。Today, our shepherds also follow and imitate Jesus, yet they are still human—they get tired, they fall ill, and their strength can run out. Lord, forgive me for so often thinking of myself as a little child, assuming it is only natural to keep receiving care from the shepherd. 觉得不管什么时候，牧人就理所当然地要为我代祷，体贴照顾我的感受，每一次我跟人起纷争，惹麻烦，牧人就应该来哄我、围着我、可怜我。I have thought that whenever I needed it, the shepherd should automatically pray for me, be sensitive to my feelings, and whenever I became involved in conflict or caused trouble, the shepherd should come to comfort me, focus on me, and feel sorry for me. 信主很多年不知道让牧人耗费了多少心力来服事我…牧人多么盼望我能成熟长大啊…After believing for so many years, I don’t even know how much energy and effort the shepherds have spent serving me. How deeply they long for me to grow and mature.

主啊，敬重牧人，不是买礼物给奉献，也不是说好听话。而是顺服你所设立的权柄，否定自己想法，接受牧人的劝勉、纠正、责备去悔改祷告。Lord, to honour shepherds is not simply about giving gifts or making offerings, nor about saying nice things. It is about submitting to the authority You have established, denying my own opinions, and receiving the shepherds’ exhortation, correction, and rebuke, leading me to repentance and prayer. 求圣灵治死我里面的讲对错，弃绝一切的论断、不服、背逆、负面想象的谎言，胜过拒绝伤害，因信竭力饶恕跟自己有摩擦的人，寻求和睦。I ask the Holy Spirit to put to death within me the need to argue over right and wrong, to reject all judgement, resistance, rebellion, and the lies of negative imagination, to overcome the wounds of rejection, and by faith to work hard at forgiving those with whom I have friction, and to pursue peace. 不要让圣灵担忧。也让你仆人能够平安，去照顾更多软弱和需要的灵魂。Do not let the Holy Spirit be grieved. In this way, Your servants will have peace to care for many more weak and needy souls.

主啊，求你看顾你仆人的身体。也让我能够成熟起来，快快明白你仆人们为父为母的心肠，脱离吃奶老婴孩的光景，成为能吃干粮、能独立寻求神、彼此相爱和睦、基督成熟的肢体。Lord, please watch over the physical health of Your servants. Help me also to grow up quickly, to understand the fatherly and motherly hearts of Your servants, to move beyond the stage of a milk-fed infant, and to become a mature member of Christ who can take solid food, seek God independently, love others, live in peace, and grow into maturity in Christ. 也能起来分担她们的担子，成为能照顾弟弟妹妹的，使你教会借着你仆人和更多肢体，更大彰显你同在和能力，使万国万民归向你！May I also rise up to share their burdens, becoming someone who can care for younger brothers and sisters, so that Your church, through Your servants and many members, may display Your presence and power even more, and that all nations and peoples may turn to You.

（付传道 Pastor Fu）