When we consider our Christian heritage in relation to the Bible, we have to read it as God has directed it. Often, our interaction with the Bible comes NOT from our reading but from listening to what someone else tells us about their interaction with the Bible. However, our personal relationship with God is based on our reading of the Bible as He has directed us.
Many people, including family members, noticed a change in Deitrich Bonhoeffer when he returned from America. He seemed more serious about the church.
"But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent."
Such an opening scripture would have set alarm bells off throughout the congregation gathered for the celebration. His opening statement after the scripture would have put a nail in anything left. He stated,
"the Protestant church was in it's eleventh hour and it's high time we realize this." Bonhoffer, Metaxas, page 122
Evidently, at that point, some people started leaving the church service. I suppose when you go to a service expecting a celebration message and the message challenges you, it might cause you to leave the service. Not only was the message unexpected, but it was particularly unexpected from Bonhoeffer. Something had happened, and even he knew it, as he stated in a letter written four years later.
"...something happened, something that has changed and transformed my life to the present day. For the first time I discovered the Bible...I had often preached. I had seen a great deal of the church, and talked and preached about it - but I had not yet become a Christian..." Bonhoffer, Metaxas, page 123
Here is Bonhoeffer, who has two doctorate degrees, is an ordained minister, and is a lecturer at Berlin University, saying that he had not yet become a Christian with all he had done and studied. Our Christian heritage is not so much about what we know but who we become. Just as when we get married and "become one," we "become Christian." There is a process of "becoming" that we must go through. He went on in the letter and said,
"It became clear to me that the life of a servant of Jesus Christ must belong to the Church, and step by step it became plainer to me how far that must go." Bonhoeffer, Metaxas, page 123
The transformation that Bonhoeffer experienced is the same that we must undergo when we accept Christ. It is foundational to the heritage we enter into at the moment of our conversion. We need to expect and be prepared for such a transformation that those closest to us will note that something is different. It will cause us to speak unexpectedly, as Deitrich did on that Reformation Sunday in 1932.
"He also knew that a word might be delivered that had come straight from heaven and be rejected, just as the messages of the Old Testament prophets had been rejected and just as Jesus has been rejected....the prophet would share in God's suffering." Bonhoeffer, Metaxas, page 123
The Apostle Paul eludes to the transformative power of scripture in his second letter to Timothy. After his transformation, Paul suffered much at the hands of the Jewish and Roman authorities. Deitrich Bonhoeffer was just stepping into the start of his persecution and had no way of foreseeing how bad it would get. The rise of Hitler and the National Socialist Party in Germany had not yet been fully realized, but it will be in the near future.
Paul tells Timothy to continue advancing in what he has learned and "become convinced of." There is the process of "becoming" mentioned again. Timothy was "becoming" with the knowledge that "all scripture is inspired by God." 2 Timothy 3:14-17 ends with Paul making sure that Timothy understands the goal of being "fully capable and equipped for every good work."
"You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,
and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;
so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:14-17
As we gain a fuller understanding of our Christian heritage, we need to develop an interaction with scripture guided by the Holy Spirit to develop our unique relationship with God. Our unique relationship with God is not informed by someone else's interaction with scripture but by our personal interaction. While others can help us with interpretation, teaching, and training, it is wholly our own interaction that develops a true relationship. That relationship will be reflected in our lives in very practical ways.
In the end, the interaction with scripture informs our theology, and that theology must lead to the practical aspects of how we live as Christians.
No comments:
Post a Comment