A Community of Faith

Dietrich Bonhoeffer does an excellent job of getting to the core of a matter. Without parsing words or shying from truth, he calls us out of our lethargy and apathy and into a right understanding of who God is and how we are to relate to Him. In Bonhoeffer's Life Together, he makes some interesting observations about how we as believers are able to relate to one another. Essentially, he draws up a blueprint of how the Church is constructed, with Jesus Christ as the central building block. As Christians, we are all unified in Christ; the Body of Christ. As such, we are in harmonious communication with the Father (not fluently, but completely and appropriately so). As a community of faith, we serve one another and work together for the sake of the Lord's name. This does not necessarily come to fruition, but one it does the whole Body serves as a single organism accomplishing great things that are otherwise impossible for a single member to do. We are adopted heirs of the Kingdom of God with Christ, provided we suffer with him. To suffer with Christ, we must put off our worldly selves. Dying to self is ugly, awkward, unpleasant, and terrifying, but God requires it from His Beloved and promises blessing in return. As a Church, this is our desire. This is who we are. He is ours. And we are His.