"...When we become believers, we can never look at anyone the same. We have to look at them through the lens of Jesus and interact with them according to our relationship with Jesus.
Bonhoeffer explains: 'Our hearts have room only for one all-embracing devotion, and we can only cleave to one Lord. Every competitor to that devotion must be hated. As Jesus says there is no alternative--either we love God or we hate him.'
One Christian site allows you to tell potential dates where God fits in your life. The choices: It defines who I am; it has a significant place; I'm still trying to figure it out; I believe in God. I'm not knocking the site, which has a good reputation, but I look at those choices and thought, 'If you are a believer, why would you consider potential mates who don't define themselves by Jesus?'
But Bonhoeffer suggests such choices reflect the modern church. We've taught people it's okay to let Jesus have a significant place in their lives, a moderate place in their lives, or a compartmentalized place in their lives. I'm not talking about nonbelievers who are seeking, and we know discipleship involves growth, so people need to grow into 'Jesus defines my life.'
But the growth isn't happening among so many followers of Christ. Why, instead of the abundant life, do so many of us end up living lives of quiet desperation ? We go to church, we read the Bible, we try to be good people and to serve other people. Yet, for many of us, Jesus isn't central to our increasingly complex lives, where we're over-stretched and now seem to be facing a tsunami of uncertainty in many areas that for so long have seemed relatively secure, such as our finances, our jobs, our homes--even our fundamental safety.
The core of Bonhoeffer's theology is that Jesus must be central to our lives and central to the church. Jesus was never meant to be an important part of our lives; he is our life (Colossians 3:4). If you try to find your life apart from Jesus, you will lose it; but if you lose your life in Jesus, then you will live an extraordinary life energized by the life of Christ within you.
Bonhoeffer says we've been lulled into believing their are two tiers to discipleship--sort of like cable plans, with basic channels and a premium package for the more pious. We delude ourselves, thinking there are but a few among us--monks, missionaries, and ministers--who are called to be more saintly, while the rest of us must settle comfortably into a mediocre, part-time discipleship.
Jesus, on the other hand, will not tolerate wishy-washy disciples. Clearly, what we call radical obedience here on earth is the obedience expected in the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, our lukewarm discipleship is actually radical dis obedience.
Jesus has his eye on the endgame, and so Bonhoeffer says Christ intends to breakthrough every program, every ideal, and every form of legalism that keeps us from following him in total abandonment. 'No other significance is possible, since Jesus is the only significance. Besides Jesus nothing has any significance. He alone matters,' Bonhoeffer says." pgs 76-77
- Jon Walker
Walker, Jon. Breakfast With Bonhoeffer: How I Learned To Stop Being Religious So I Could Follow Jesus. Abilene: Leafwood Publishers, 2012.
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