Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of my spiritual heroes. For those that may be reading this and not be familiar with Bonhoeffer, he was a German Lutheran pastor, professor and openly opposed Hitler and his Nazi worldview. He saw the national church of his day heading down a road of compromise with secular culture and therefore spent most of his ministry calling the church back to a life of holiness. Much of what he wrote is still timely and influential for the church today; The Cost of Discipleship, Life Together, and many theological papers are just some of his writings. When Sari and I visited Berlin last year, we visited the church where Bonhoeffer was ordained (see picture above). As Hitler rose in power and the national church began to cozy up to his way of thinking, Bonhoeffer began to set up underground seminaries to train pastors for his Confessing Church, established to maintain strict biblical beliefs and practices. One such seminary was Finkenwalde just outside of modern day Szczecin, Poland.  

When the Berlin Project Team from Eagle went to Berlin in February of this year, we took a side trip across the border into Poland stopping at a restaurant for authentic pierogies. The restaurant was in Szczecin. The problem was I never put all of this together until reading a book this week that referred to Finkenwalde and I did some research. While we enjoyed our pierogies, I never realized we were less than 5 miles from the site of Finkenwalde. Today there is still the Garden of Silence and Meditation memorializing Bonhoeffer and the seminary.  How great would it have been to walk those grounds!?

I tell you all of this to say “I missed it!” We were so close and I didn’t have a clue. I was focused on pierogies. And here is the point. Much of the world and many believers, are living their life missing what Jesus is doing around them. Why? We aren’t paying attention, we are more focused on pierogies. Many times even getting cozy with the culture.  Jesus is at his work and we get distracted by the things of this world.

In the bigger scheme of things missing out on a Bonhoeffer landmark for a few delicious pierogies is really no big deal – upsetting – but not a matter of life or death. But missing out on Jesus because we are focused on the things of this world…
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world (or some pierogies), yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”  Jesus in Mark 8:34-38

The way of the disciple of Jesus is oftentimes a way of sacrifice and suffering. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  It was Bonhoeffer in his book The Cost of Discipleship that said “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Die to self but alive to Christ. On April 9, 1945, after two years in prison and without a trial, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged for his opposition to Hitler and his commitment to the Gospel.

As we are coming off of Holy week and Easter is past, I am reminded of all that Christ gave that we who are dead in our sin might be made alive through Christ, let’s stop and count the cost. Who or what am I chasing after? Christ and all that he offers? The World and all that it offers? What in my life says Jesus and what says World? I don’t want to come to the end of this life and realized “I was so close but missed it.” Let’s chase after Jesus together – through prayer, confession, worship, study, service, community…

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” -Jesus, John 17:16