The "good old days?"

When I hear Christians bemoan the fact that the world is getting worse all the time, that the world has never been more evil, etc...I'm just really skeptical. Are these really the worst times ever...really?

Perhaps, but when I consider what Deitrich Bonhoeffer had to face and compare it to my life and times, there's no doubt in my mind that I haven't faced anything close to the evil and adversity he faced. In 1939, some friends got him out of Germany and brought him to America. He couldn't stay. He knew both Christians and non-Christians needed him too much in Germany so he went back.

Later, when he was in prison, and the world was literally falling apart around him, he was so calm and commanded so much respect, that even the German guards were willing to smuggle his letters and poems out of the prison. The strength he exuded through and because of the Holy Spirit is the reason people still talk about and draw strength from his example today.

Is the world worse today than it was in 1933 or 1943? Is it worse than when all of the disciples but one were martyred for their faith? I'm not so sure, but I hope if I ever have to face the adversity those believers had to confront that I can respond with half of the calmness and peace in Christ that they displayed.

The Cost of Discipleship

I just picked up The Cost of Discipleship by Deitrich Bonhoeffer again. Michelle and I read this book several years ago. I've talked a little bit about Bonhoeffer before. The guy intrigues and inspires me. In the face of the incredible evil that was Nazi Germany, he never shrank from what he saw as his duty to God. His example shames me when I fail to stand for Christ in front of friends, family, co-workers...whoever.

He was only 39 years old when the Nazis hanged him. One of his friends G.K.A Bell said this about him, "young as he was and humble-minded as he was, he saw truth and spoke it with a complete absence of fear."

I want to speak truth. I want to speak truth to believers and non-believers. I want to speak truth so that my children will have an example to follow. I want to speak truth because that's what Christ demands of me. The grace he has given me isn't cheap.