30 days of Praise: Dietrich Bonheoffer

Day Six: Do you have a role model? What characteristic do you admire most? Why are you thankful for that person and their character?

Scripture: When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. ³ Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude… Acts 24:2-3

If you know me well, or even if you’ve read who I admire on my Facebook page, you are probably aware that Dietrich Bonheoffer is number three on my list, right below Jesus then the apostle Paul.  In the past few weeks I’ve spent a great deal of time reading through various theologians works dating back to the first century. I came across many I greatly admired, and many I disliked, but my great admiration for Bonheoffer remains the same.  I’m privileged enough to be spending part of my day reading one of Bonheoffer’s works, The Cost of Discipleship and I really can’t help but get teary eyed every few paragraphs because he was a person who truly knew the cost of discipleship.  He lived in Germany during Hitler’s reign, but unlike so many church officials, he stood up for his beliefs and would not sit complacently while innocent people were being killed. He didn’t sit on a righteous thrown turning a blind eye to horrid injustices and not care because they weren’t people of his beliefs or his church that were suffering.  He stood up for what was right, regardless of differences, and joined the resistance movement. At one point he was even working as a double agent… not your typical pastor! In the end, standing up for his beliefs cost him his life as he was caught after a failed assassination attempt on Hitler. He was hung in 1945, just days before American troops liberated the area, but he never stopping writing, never stopped preaching, and never stopped loving.

Today, I am extraordinarily thankful for the life of Dietrich Bonheoffer, for the example he set, that he followed Jesus to the death, and for his writings that still deeply move me today.