One Among Many

The other day I watched a biography on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I came across one of his books decades ago titled “The Cost of Discipleship” and was greatly inspired. Watching the video version of his life brought about a renewed conviction to make my life count for Christ. He is one among many who teach, inform and remind me of why in His infinite mercy and grace, Jesus saved me.

In Philippians 3:7 we read what I would call the apostle Paul’s framework for life. “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Here we see two contrasts gain and loss. Paul turns these two concepts on their head by any normal thinking man or woman. From the high chair we learn that gain is good. The world is always eager to inform us that the more we accumulate what is satisfying and pleasurable, the more we gain approval and likes, we will learn to embrace whatever we must to maintain that status. Loss on the other hand somehow represents insufficeincy, deprivation, and being deviod of.

Not so, say the lives and testimonies of millions who’ve counted living for Christ of far greater worth than our momentary blip on this earth. A. W. Tozer said, “The true follower of Christ will not ask, “If I embrace this truth, what will it cost me?” Rather he will say, “This is truth. God help me to walk in it, let come what may!” 

It seems to me that true discipleship is undergoing a massive crisis. It is reflected in the amount of time and teaching that we are consuming on making us feel better about ourselves. Our worth, our value, our self- affirmation and affirming others are just a few of the crowd pleasers of our day. I’m hearing and seeing a brand of Christianity that is embracing the nouns and pronounes of the culture and making an all out effort to carefully craft our speech so as not to offend. In our attempt to be relevant we are losing all that is truly relevant.

Discipleship in the early church was a clear, recognizable and unapologetic society of men and women who viewed their lives through the lens of the cross. Each day was directed by an inner gratitude that spoke to their true purpose. The early disciples I believe had a motto of not “how do we feel about this that and the other” but instead “how then should we live”!

Apart from his theological writings, Bonhoeffer was known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship, including vocal opposition to Adolf Hitler’s euthanasia program and genocidal persecution of the Jews. He was hanged on 9 April 1945 during the collapse of the Nazi regime.

 He wrote, “Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.”

A friend of Bonhoeffer wrote, “I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer… kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

Yes, this is one among many whom I choose to help me in this brief journey. And above all to keep my eyes Jesus who’s worth means my willingness to be spent and be expended. God help me!