《剪下一方暖和--喻道小故事》

酸葡萄Sour Grapes

A boy often visited his grandparent's farm during the summer. He loved to wander around in the large back yard and nearby woods, and to eat the grapes growing in the garden. Many times he would pick the grapes to see if they were ripe. They usually were not. And he would return to the house, sit down at the table, and ask his grandmother to help him get rid of the sour taste in his mouth. Her answer was always the same. She would give the boy a swallow of wine. It was sweet and took care of the problem without clashing with the sour grape taste. It simply removed it and brought refreshment.

Jesus has a similar, but greater, cure. When we have been eating the "sour grapes" of our sinful thoughts and actions and want to be forgiven, He invites us to His table. He removes our sin and guilt by giving us His bread and wine. He covers our many failures to renew us and strengthen us for living. He frees us from the bitterness of our disobedience and foolishness. We are new creations.

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字汇
1. wine 葡萄酒
2. clash 冲突
3. strengthen 坚固
4. disobedience 悖逆、不顺服

夏天里男孩常到祖父母的农场去玩，他喜欢在宽大的后院和附近的树林里徘徊，也喜欢吃园里长的的葡萄。他一次次摘下葡萄，试试看成熟了没有。常常葡萄还未成熟，他会回到屋里，在桌边坐下，央求祖母帮他把嘴里的酸味去掉。祖母的解决办法从来都是一个样儿。她会给男孩喝一口葡萄酒，酒是甜的，解决了问题，却不和酸葡萄的味道相冲，反倒是除了酸味，带来清新。

耶稣有一种类似却更伟大的疗法。当人因自己有罪的思想行动而吃了「酸葡萄」，想要得到饶恕，他邀请我们到他的桌前。他把饼与酒(译按：代表耶稣的身体与宝血)给我们来除掉我们的罪。他不看我们的许多失败，更新坚固我们继续而活。他把我们从悖逆愚昧的苦味中释放，成为新造的人。

思考与应用

1. 当我们做错事或得罪了人，会很想除掉那种难过的感觉，通常会怎么做？
2. 如果耶稣的伟大疗法能让我们的酸味苦味变成甜味，你愿意尝尝看吗？

about 【剪下一方暖和】专栏译者：顾美芬