Serving Jesus

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Germany on this date in 1906. As a young professor and pastor, Bonhoeffer spoke out against the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany. Consequently, he was continually harassed.

In 1939, on the eve of World War II, he was lecturing in the United States and could have remained in freedom. But he felt compelled to return home, even though persecution was likely.

The Gestapo often disrupted his ministry, but Bonhoeffer remained devoted to the Gospel, assisting troubled people and helping many to escape persecution.

Although he eventually was arrested, he remained a source of inspiration. In prison, he wrote a remarkable series of letters that revealed his deepening faith. He believed that “nothing that happens to me is meaningless,” and recognized that he was in prison “for some purpose.” He realized how people “cannot find their essence out of themselves” but “only through Christ…and His Word.”

Bonhoeffer was martyred just days before the victory of Allied forces. A prison doctor wrote, “I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer still in his prison clothes, kneeling in fervent prayer to the Lord his God. The devotion and evident conviction…moved me to the depths.” As he was being led away to be hanged, he whispered to a fellow prisoner that for him this was “the beginning of life.”

In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer wrote, “The only man who has the right to say that he has been justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ.”

God looks for people with this kind of dedication and faith. Today, commit your time, energy, and resources to Him. Don’t be distracted. Live for Him. In eternity, nothing else will matter.