Identity: The Gift of God’s Grace 身分：神恩典的禮物｜牧者心語

Tainan Holiness Church
8月7日
讀畢需時 6 分鐘

已更新：10月17日

1. Introduction: Why Identity?

一、引言：為什麼是「身分」？

Brothers and sisters, peace to you.Today, I will be sharing about “Identity.”

Why? Because a few days ago, Pastor Kao shared about how he received his calling.He said the highlight of his story was God’s grace.From his entrance into seminary until now, the impossible has become possible only through this grace.

弟兄姊妹，平安。今天我分享的主題是「身分」。

為什麼是這個主題呢？因為前幾天牧師跟我們分享了他的呼召故事。牧師說他呼召故事的亮點是——神的恩典。從進入神學院到現在，一切不可能都因為神的恩典而變可能。

2. Mission Impossible: Handwriting Chinese

二、不可能的任務：手寫中文

His story reminded me of when I was preparing for our seminary entrance exam.This image—was my daily life back then.I received the practice questions on September 12, and the exam was set for October 19.I had exam questions, translations, and kept practicing handwriting Chinese characters.

It was 2021, and I had already lived in Taiwan for 25 years.But I had never needed or wanted to handwrite Chinese. could read a little and type—typing was just selecting characters.Writing each stroke by hand on a blank page—that was mission impossible.It was very difficult—painfully difficult.很In the beginning, I doubted myself—what am I doing?

牧師的亮點讓我想到當時準備專科班的入學考。這個畫面，就是我當時的日常。我是九月十二號收到題庫，考試日期是十月十九號，一個多月時間。有題庫、有翻譯，還有一直不斷得在練習中文字的筆劃。

當時是2021年，我已經在台灣25年了，但我從來沒有需要或想要手寫中文。我稍微會看，也會打字，因為打字只需要選字，不用記住筆劃。要在白紙上，一筆一畫地寫出來，對我來說是非常陌生又不可能的任務。很辛苦，辛苦到有點痛苦。剛開始的時候，我常常抄到懷疑自己到底在做什麼。

3. Psalm 37: The Desire that Came from God

三、詩篇37篇的經歷：渴望從神而來

But then I began to experience Psalm 37.Verse 4 says: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Writing Chinese had never been my desire, it’s a really difficult language.And after writing for a while, all the words started to look the same.In 25 years, I always avoided it as much as I could.But now, I wanted to keep writing and keep practicing—again and again.I wanted to absorb the material and be able to write all the answers.That desire, for sure, did not come from me.這個渴望非常確定不是出於我自己。

但我開始經歷到詩篇第三十七篇。第四節說：「要以耶和華為樂，他就將你心裡所求的賜給你。」我自己完全不會想寫中文，真的很難！一筆一畫一直寫，每個字都會開始長得一樣！真的很像！每個字看起來都一樣。二十五年來，我能躲就躲，能不用就不用。但我卻開始不斷地想要寫，想要練習。好想吸收題庫的內容，也想寫出對的答案。

4. Identity Shift: From Princess to Servant

四、身分的轉變：從公主到僕人

The highlight of my story is identity.Growing up, I was taught that identity was something we build.Shaping it based on hobbies, skills, goals, etc.

I saw myself as God’s princess.That meant: God was here to support me and give me what I wanted, because He loved me.

But thank the LORD, when I came to church, I learned the truth.My identity was transformed—from princess to child of God.This new identity meant learning Scripture, submitting to God, committing to Him.Then God called me to be His servant.

我故事的亮點是「身分」。我從小被教育身分是自己塑造出來的。靠自己的生活、喜好、能力去決定你想成為什麼身分。我從小就認識神，但我把自己當神的「公主」。意思就是：神要幫助我，給我我想要的東西，因為祂愛我。但感謝主，當我來到教會，我學到了真理。我的身分被改變——從「公主」變成「神的兒女」。作為神的兒女，要學習聖經、學習順服、學習委身。接下來，神呼召我成為祂的僕人。

5. Three Levels of Self

五、三種身分的對比：自我 vs. 神心意

What is the difference? A simple difference is in the level of “self.”

As God’s princess, it was all about me—100%
As a child of God, to be honest, it was still mostly me—50%
But as a servant of God, I don’t want there to be any of me—0%

Another important difference is:We are children of God by grace, and servants of God by response.

差別在哪裡？簡單的差別在於「自我」的程度。當我是神的公主，一切都是圍繞著我——百分之百。當我是神的孩子，老實說，還是大多數是以我為中心——百分之五十。但當我是神的僕人，我不願意有任何自己的成分——百分之零。

另外一個重要的差別：我們因恩典作神的兒女，因回應作神的僕人。

6. Romans 12: Transformation by Surrender

六、變化的關鍵：羅馬書12章的呼召

Romans 12:1–2 became a guide for my transformation. There are two “lets” in this passage: 羅馬書十二章一到二節成為我被「變化」的指南。有兩個「讓」：

“Let your body be a living sacrifice.”讓身體獻上作活祭
“Let God transform you.”讓神改變我們的想法（心意更新而變化）

This is how I was transformed.From a selfish princess → to a blessed child → to a servant who obeys.If it were not for God’s grace, I would never be here today.Now, every day, I ask only for God’s will—not mine.God’s will is three simple adjectives: good, pleasing, perfect.：good, pleasing, perfect。

這就是我被改變的方式。從自私的公主 → 到蒙福的兒女 →

到順服的僕人。若不是神的恩典，我絕對不可能走到今天。現在，我每天只求神的旨意，不是我自己的意思。神的旨意是三個簡單的形容詞

7. Becoming Who We Truly Are

七、結語：成為真正的自己

I would like to end with a quote from C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity:我想以《返璞歸真》中C.S.路易斯的一句話作結尾：

“The more we lay down our false self and let God rule, the more we become our true self.”「我們越願意放下虛假的自我，讓神掌權，就越成為真正的自己。」

That is the identity God intended for us.The road ahead may be narrow and hard, but my heart is full of thankfulness and hope.Thank the Lord! God has given us the most precious identity.Not one we create, but one given by Him.

這就是神為我們所預備的真正身分。接下來的路或許又窄又難走，但我心中滿有感恩和盼望。感謝主！神給我們最珍貴的身分，不是我們自己塑造的，而是祂賜的。

8. Three Essentials for the Journey

八、牧師給我們的三樣裝備：品格、聖經、順服

1. Character 品格

Character is who we are when no one is watching.It is formed not in crowds or spotlight, but in quiet choices only God sees.Character steadies identity the way roots steady a tree.

品格，是在沒有人看到的時候，我們仍然是怎樣的人。品格不是在人多或受注目時養成的，而是在那些只有神看得到的選擇中慢慢建立的。品格穩固我們的身分，就像樹根穩住一棵樹一樣。

2. Scripture 聖經

Scripture renews our thinking.Reading scripture shapes our perspective; memorizing scripture arms us in trials; meditating on scripture brings God’s Word into our lives.The Word of God doesn’t just inform—it transforms.

聖經會更新我們的思想。讀聖經會調整我們的眼光；背經文使我們在試煉中有裝備；默想讓神的話語進入我們的生命。聖經不是只有知識，而是會改變生命。