KNOWING NOTHING BUT LIFE
Brother Mak, if others oppose you or criticize you, you do not need to require them to come to you and explain to you what they are doing. Do not be carried away by others’ questions. You have to take the initiative, and you should never be passive. There are thousands of ways to answer a question, but I know only one thing, and that is to turn back to life. Helping others to know life is like a doctor feeling the pulse of a patient; as soon as a person comes to you, you should be able to give a diagnosis and to discern the spiritual condition of that person. You can only minister to others what you have. Life is not knowledge. When a person comes to us to ask all sorts of questions, we should not give him answers to the questions. Instead, we should give him the Lord’s life. When others come to you, you should not give him many ways to work. You should only give him the Lord. Do not carry him away into work. In the case of those who criticize you, you should try to turn them to life. You do not need to ask the reason for their criticisms, nor do you need to give explanations for yourself. Much less do you need to bring someone else along to vindicate or justify yourself. You only need to check the spiritual condition of such a one and ask him to pray with you. If you do this, you will see that you do not have to do anything; the Lord has done everything for you already. Such a person will say, "Thank you. You are truly a messenger from heaven." You do not know anything on the earth. You do not know any misunderstanding, any criticisms, or any agreement or disagreement. You only know life. There is nothing but life.
In Galatians 6:15, Paul told the Galatians that it was not a question of circumcision or uncircumcision, but a question of being a new creation. Following that, he said, "As many as walk by this rule, peace be upon them and mercy" (Gal. 6:16). If we practice this, all the blessings will follow.
BEING MINGLED WITH THE LORD AND
WITH THE SAINTS
A. The Need to Deal
with the Peculiar Characteristics
We have to mingle ourselves with the Lord. All the peculiar characteristics, the unaccommodating attitudes, and the odd dispositions have to be broken. If we do not do this, we will not be able to mingle with other Christians, and we will only be an individual Christian. Some people are like a drop of oil in water. Among the brothers and sisters, they are a drop of oil, whereas others are like a glass of water. Such a one cannot mingle himself with the others. When a drop of water falls into a glass of water, immediately it becomes one with the water in the glass. This should be the way with us as Christians.
B. The Need to Deal with Individualism
Cement, water, and stones are the elements that make up concrete. The Holy Spirit is like the water, the Lord is like the cement, and we are like the stones. In order for the three things to be mingled together, the stones must first be cleaned. If the stones are not clean, even if there is water and cement, the three will not mix together. The stones must first be cleaned. When they are clean, they can be mingled together with other stones in the water and the cement. Many people can serve God, but they cannot serve men. They can love God, but they cannot love the brothers and sisters. They can submit to God’s authority, but they cannot submit to men’s authority. They can confess their sins before God, but they cannot confess their sins before men. They can fellowship with God alone, but they cannot fellowship with the brothers and sisters. These people are like individual stones; they cannot come together with the other stones.
For some people, some part of their skin is too old and is not functioning properly. There is the need to remove the old skin and to graft in new skin. When the new skin is grafted in, what is grafted in must be fresh and new. In the process of grafting, such a one must endure pain for the old skin to be removed and the new skin to grow together with the other parts. Many brothers and sisters are too old. They have to experience some cutting before they can be joined together with others. Are you able to withstand such cutting? This is where the crux of the matter lies.
(Messages Given During the Resumption of Watchman Nee's Ministry (2 volume set), Chapter 35, by Watchman Nee/Witness Lee)
