Reading Bonhoeffer again. My old copy of Letters and Papers disintegrated and my daughter graciously purchased another copy for me.
The more I read the more I am coming to the conclusion that it is duress not peace, it is turmoil not calm, that produces in us all the greatest insights into life and happiness. Here's a piece of wisdom to drink down and be nourished with from Bonhoeffer.
"Who stands fast? Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God--the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of God."
(Letters and Papers from Prison, 5)
There is the echo of the apostle Paul's words here. (1 Cor. 15:58)
May God make us willing to sacrifice anything to express an exclusive allegiance to Him. And may we stand immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Amen.
3 comments:
Perhaps because peace, calm and abundance require little faith.
I sometimes wonder at today's society and how easy it is to become Sunday Christians. Christ becomes the center of our life on Sunday, but as soon as the work/school week rolls along we're back to "life" and being nice people. Because everyone is so frightened of offending someone, they do not talk or ask about God at all. Because we do not talk about God and He is out of our thoughts, we are never challenged and we become stale in our walk with Christ. Often times, it is only during times of turmoil and uncertainty when we realize our staleness and start to seek out the life God calls us to live. Like you said earlier, most of the time we are just practical atheists. When trouble arises, we go crawling back to God. Thankfully, he still accepts us with open arms.
Recently, I have witnessed this very topic surface as a glaring weakness in my life. I have also found that it takes work and diligence to clean up that mess. It never just goes away with experience as a Christian. You have to ‘want to’ get rid of it and you need help from God to do it. Many times, this means sacrificially making a stand for Christ. You might stir up controversy, ruffle some feathers, or get kicked out of your comfort zone, but if the Lord is your God and ruffled feathers is a result of your love for God – so be it. When that time comes to make a stand and we are truly living for God, then just as Bonhoeffer said, we will stand fast and Christ will give us the strength to do it.
Amen. Stand fast. Nothing is wasted that is done for and in the name of Christ.
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