The Interruption of Example
Pondering lives lived for Christ, and how they inspire us
We started listening to a new radio theater production last night. I thought it would be a nice way, in this newly cozy season, of coming together as in a read-aloud, but allowing my attention to be somewhat free for Christmas making. I was right. As I knit (dish scrubbies, should you be on our giving list), we listened to Focus on the Family’s Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom. And friends, less than an hour in, and I am challenged.
Many years ago, in my early days of homeschooling, our Sonlight curriculum had us reading a Christian Heros book on George Müller. I hated it. I remember barely being able to make it through some chapters without scoffing. Who was this man? What kind of religious figure pointed people to wait on the Lord rather than doing for themselves? I was 31 or 32 that year, and oh, there was refining still to come. When I revisited Müller’s story five years later, I was shocked at the way I had dismissed the example of this man’s profound and pure faith. To this day, I find comfort and inspiration in the words and life of a man whose simple faith failed to impress me on our first introduction.
We should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried. The more I am in a position to be tried in faith, the more I will have the opportunity of seeing God’s help and deliverance. Every fresh instance in which He helps and delivers me will increase my faith. The believer should not shrink from situations, positions, or circumstances in which his faith may be tried, but he should cheerfully embrace them as opportunities to see the hand of God stretched out in help and deliverance. Thus his faith will be strengthened. —George Müller
Bonhoeffer was a bit different for me. I know some of the details of his story and have considered him an example of faith in action. A German pastor who was publicly outspoken against the Nazi party in WWII, Bonhoeffer was eventually hanged following his involvement in activities that were judged to be treasonous to the Führer. That’s the short version. I realized last night that just as I had not been ready to learn from the life of George Müller on our first introduction, the same has held true with Bonhoeffer over the years. I have a feeling that hearing his story is going to be transformative for me in the same way Müller’s has been.
Just as Hebrew 11 points to the examples lived out in the days before Jesus, we can find encouragement today as it was walked out by those who lived extraordinary lives for Christ. Does this mean that there’s no value in a simple life, one spent quietly working and serving in the place the Lord ordained? Not at all. In fact, the most inspiring believers are those who did just that, but somehow came to the attention of the masses. Elisabeth Elliot did nothing but marry the man she loved and follow him on his mission. Corrie ten Boom was obedient to her father. Billy Graham was a preacher like so many others. In the same way, we can learn much from those around us in our daily life if they are submitted to Christ and taking the time to share the wisdom the Lord has given them with others.
And that, I think, is what I took away from last night’s opening scenes of Bonhoeffer’s story. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an intelligent, educated man who chose a somewhat unlikely path given his family’s academic leanings. His father is portrayed as at first being unenthusiastic (though not condemning) of his son’s choice of ministry as a career, but he is nothing but supportive. There is strong indication that Bonhoeffer was a rule follower. He worked his way through the academic hoops required for ordination. He had good standing in all the right university circles. And then God seems to have tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Right. Now you know what everyone says about me. Time to learn who I really am.”
I don’t know about you, but this resonated deeply with me last night. Having the head knowledge of religion is quite different than having the heart wisdom of faith. One has a special place for God; the other realizes that God is all the places. Hearing the dramatized moment when a fellow Christian confronts Dietrich by asking, “What would you do if Germany’s policies contradicted your faith?” and then waiting for his halting reply was absolutely everything I fear about my own ability to stand firm in the face of tyranny: “It’s premature to make a statement on that. Let us hope it does not come to that.”
“Let us hope it does not come to that.” And yet, we know it did. Listening to Bonhoeffer’s story will give me one view of how a believer felt called to walk that challenge out. Some day, in some way, we all may face our own version of it coming to that. I don’t know about you, but I want my simple life to reflect what I believe most about Christ: that I am a Christian first, and everything— everything— else after. Christian before Wife. Christian before Mother. Christian before American. Christian before Denomination Adherent.
Bonhoeffer famously wrote, “We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.” I feel like listening to this radio theater story is going to lead to deeper study and yes, I may just find myself interrupted by God. He certainly interrupted me when I read The Life of Trust, written by George Müller. He interrupts me daily when I am confronted by His Word and find myself being refined by it. Given the current state of the world, of America, of my own community, I humbly ask God to encourage, inspire, and challenge me, that I might be an instrument for His glory here in my own home.
In Christ,
Heather