阅读经文 

神伟大的故事只有一个目的：就是叫人对祂所教导的真理有更大的信心，好叫他们可以与祂一起进入丰盛的生命。单单聆听，甚至非常熟识这个故事，都是不足够的；我们更需要神藉着祂的教导来改变和塑造我们。

圣经称这个改变为悔改。我们需要悔改，这是必须的，所以我们在今天的经文中再次聆听这个真理。

这个故事帮助我们去细想，悔改是多么难以做到，拒绝悔改的邀请是何等大的损失。聆听启示录故事中每一个号响起后所发生的事，已经够煎熬的了，但我们还会听到这个更加令人悲哀和困惑的事实：“其余……的人，仍旧不悔改。”

罪恶是令人上瘾和误导人的，我们拼命抓紧我们的“金、银、铜、木、石的偶像”——就是所有令我们对神无法专注、令我们误以为能带来成就和快乐的事物。我们抓紧这些没有生命的事物，不肯放手去接受从神而来的生命。

耶稣呼召你悔改时，你会怎样做呢？当祂说：“凡劳苦担重担的人，可以到我这里来，我就使你们得安息。”（太 11:28）时，祂邀请我们每一个人凭信心回应这个应许。

God’s great story has a single purpose: to grow faith in the truth that he teaches so that people can have full life with him. It is not enough that we listen to the story or that we even know the story well. We need God to change and shape us through its teaching.

The Bible calls this change repentance. The need for us to repent is so essential that we hear it again in our reading for today.

This story helps us to consider how hard it is to repent and how costly it is to refuse the call to repentance. As difficult as it is to listen to the events unfold after each of the trumpet calls in the Revelation story, there is this sad and puzzling recognition that "the rest of mankind . . . still did not repent."

Sin is addictive and deceiving. We desperately want to hold on to our "idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood"—that is, all kinds of things that distract us from paying attention to God and that we think will make us great or give us happiness. We hold on to these lifeless things rather than letting go to receive life from God.

What will you do as Jesus calls for repentance? He invites each of us to respond in faith to his promise when he says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).