The Christian cannot simply take for granted the privilege of living among other Christians.
Jesus Christ lived in the midst of His enemies.
In the end all His disciples abandoned Him.
On the cross He was all alone, surrounded by criminals and the jeering crowds.
He had come for the express purpose of bringing peace to the enemies of God.
So Christians, too, belong not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the midst of enemies.
There they find their mission, their work.
According to God’s will, the Christian church is a scattered people,
scattered like seed “to all the kingdom of the earth” (Deut. 28:25).
That is the curse and its promise.
God’s people must live in distant lands among the unbelievers,
but they will be the seed of the kingdom of God in all the world. (pp. 27-28)
when Christians are allowed to live here in visible community with other Christians,
we have merely a gracious anticipation of the end time.
It is by God’s grace that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly around
God’s word and sacrament in this world.
Not all Christians partake of this grace.
The imprisoned, the sick, the lonely who live in the diaspora,
the proclaimers of the gospel in heathen lands stand alone.
They know that visible community is grace”
Therefore, let those who until now have had the privilege of living a
Christian life together with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of their hearts.
Let them thank God on their knees and realize:
it is grace, nothing but grace,
that we are still permitted to live in the community of Christians today. (p. 30)
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer "Life Together"~
Grace does not mean the cessation of guilt, of repentence, or of confession.
That would be cheap grace...
True grace means that we feel the anguish of all of the above...
the anguish that knows that we could never pay for those ourselves,
It forces upon us the realisation that even in our best efforts, we'd be inadequate,
but God paid that price for us willingly, just so we could feel His embrace...
There is nothing about "deserving it" in grace, it is purely about His agape Love
Taking the Grace of God cheaply means we return back to our ways,
just like 2 Peter 2:22 says...
"It has happened to them according to the true proverb,
“A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,”
and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”
Jesus Christ lived in the midst of His enemies.
In the end all His disciples abandoned Him.
On the cross He was all alone, surrounded by criminals and the jeering crowds.
He had come for the express purpose of bringing peace to the enemies of God.
So Christians, too, belong not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the midst of enemies.
There they find their mission, their work.
According to God’s will, the Christian church is a scattered people,
scattered like seed “to all the kingdom of the earth” (Deut. 28:25).
That is the curse and its promise.
God’s people must live in distant lands among the unbelievers,
but they will be the seed of the kingdom of God in all the world. (pp. 27-28)
when Christians are allowed to live here in visible community with other Christians,
we have merely a gracious anticipation of the end time.
It is by God’s grace that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly around
God’s word and sacrament in this world.
Not all Christians partake of this grace.
The imprisoned, the sick, the lonely who live in the diaspora,
the proclaimers of the gospel in heathen lands stand alone.
They know that visible community is grace”
Therefore, let those who until now have had the privilege of living a
Christian life together with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of their hearts.
Let them thank God on their knees and realize:
it is grace, nothing but grace,
that we are still permitted to live in the community of Christians today. (p. 30)
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer "Life Together"~
Today, I was deep in reflection of the values that have been lost...
and 2 struck extremely wonderfully...i think it's an act of grace from God...
one of them was "devotion"...
Far more than commitment, i think "devotion" is a word that is utterly lost,
it speaks to me of fidelity, loyalty, steel with tenderness, love as an action,
it belongs to a generation, mine, that has past...will we lose it now?
To me, it means holding to what is pure, good, and true.
And it belongs to the sacred category...one which is a rarity now
The other word is "anguish"...another old fashioned, yet extremely meaningful word...
I remember the experience of travailing in prayer I once had,
of how the weight of prayer literally doubled me over on the floor,
how extreme the depth of sensation was...and how it could only be called "anguish"
it was a grace from God to experience that and never to forget it...
because I think that then...it really solidified what true Love meant
and it also demonstrated the depth of hurt that such Love took...
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance,
baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession....
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship,
grace without the cross,
grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer~
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer~
Grace does not mean the cessation of guilt, of repentence, or of confession.
That would be cheap grace...
True grace means that we feel the anguish of all of the above...
the anguish that knows that we could never pay for those ourselves,
It forces upon us the realisation that even in our best efforts, we'd be inadequate,
but God paid that price for us willingly, just so we could feel His embrace...
There is nothing about "deserving it" in grace, it is purely about His agape Love
Taking the Grace of God cheaply means we return back to our ways,
just like 2 Peter 2:22 says...
"It has happened to them according to the true proverb,
“A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,”
and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”
May that never be...
I pray tonight for a greater devotion, & for a sense of anguish,
one that draws us deeper and closer into the heart of God
and moves us into His amazing grace, and to action as His hands and feet
