Costly Grace: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Proverbs 31:8

Some faith costs us comfort. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a German pastor and theologian who could have stayed safe in New York. He had gone to study at Union Theological Seminary in 1930, and he returned to Germany when his church and country came under pressure from the Nazi regime.

There he joined the Confessing Church, a movement of Christians who refused to bend the gospel to the state. He trained young pastors at an underground seminary at Finkenwalde, and wrote The Cost of Discipleship, which argues that grace is free but never cheap. He was arrested in 1943, held in Tegel Prison, and was put to death in April 1945, days before the war ended in Europe.

Key verse (KJV), Proverbs 31:8: "Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction."

Reflection: Bonhoeffer's life asks whether our faith speaks only on Sundays, or also for the neighbour who has no voice. Many Celestians do this quietly through outreach, visiting the sick and feeding the hungry.

Prayer point: Lord, give us courage to stand for what is right, and kindness to carry others.

Over to you: Where have you seen a believer pay a price to do the right thing? And who around you needs someone to speak up for them this week?

Sources: Wikipedia, "Dietrich Bonhoeffer"; KJV Bible.
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1987-074-16 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de)