Valkyrie and The Cost of Discipleship

Anyone seen the film Valkyrie? I plan to see it as soon as I can make space in my schedule. I am intrigued with the film and the historical story behind it. As a pastor, I often reference the evil in our world and Nazism is an easy target for this. But this story reminds us that even in the midst of that horrendous evil in Nazi Germany, there were some men of honor, valor and courage. There were hundreds of men who banded together and felt a real responsibility to the Jews and others they didn't even know. They risked their own lives, and the lives of their wives and children to try and kill Hitler in order to save the lives of a bunch of strangers. I love bumping up against that hard truth because it presses me to ask the question of myself, "Would you step up and do something in that scenario or would you just let those others suffer and console yourself by saying there is nothing you can really do about it anyway?" I think we bypass so much good we could do in life by excusing ourselves under the false premise that it is not our responsibility. But if we are followers of Jesus and His ultimate plan is to redeem this planet from evil, then we must engage in every instance where we are given the opportunity to overcome evil.

I was reminded of all of this today because I became a fan of Dietrich Bonhoeffer on facebook, for whatever that is worth? But if you know anything about this man, you could never deny becoming a fan of his in any fashion. Dietrich was the real deal. As a highly educated theologian and leader of the confessing church in pre-world war II Germany, he had the opportunity to leave Germany and teach at an American University and thus guarantee his freedom and his life. But he CHOSE to return to Germany as anti-semitism and christian persecution was gaining strength. He considered it his duty to go and suffer with his fellow believers, as protecting himself was just not an option. As he returned he did all he could to smuggle jews out of the country and resist the Nazi propoganda. These activities eventually landed him in concentration camps, where he was brutally beaten and eventually hanged with a piano wire just three weeks before the Soviets liberated his concentration camp. This type of violent hanging was given to him because he was linked to operation Valkyrie, the attempt on Hitler's life. This man's life screams out to me that there are some things worth living for and there are some things worth dying for. If you really want to be challenged in your Christian life, read his classic book, The Cost of Discipleship. The opening line simply says, "Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace." Then Bonhoeffer (pictured here) gets more direct . . .

So check it out, both the movie and the life and writings of Bonhoeffer, they will get your mind focused on eternal things . .
Todd