“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
It was the time of the Nazi regime. Hitler moved in all around the country and no body but batted an eye… Except for Dietrich Bonhoeffer when Hitler tried to impose his power in the church. Many of the church’s clergymen didn’t see the problem with Hitler and his men… Until it was too late. Nobody spoke up, until Dietrich gave his first sermon – calling Hitler out.
He exclaimed, “This man is without charm, without character, without charisma,” when speaking about Hitler. And in his sermon he declared, “The church should be a place of refuge, not a place of power.” He knew the true desire of what Jesus Christ imagined His people to be like; Dietrich knew that the communist ideologies of Hitler was not what Jesus Christ had in mind for his people.
And so he fought. He spoke out against the evil. And it landed him in prison, and eventually martyred.
What a courageous act. What a holy and admirable act.
“To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.”
With tears in my eyes, I watched as the Nazi regime took over Germany, and continued to watch as MANY gave into their fears and did not stand up for the freedom that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And all I could think of was when a form of “Hitler” tried to take over the world again – just recently – during what we all know as “The Covid Pandemic.”
I always hate speaking of this time, because it is a conversation that brings many heated feelings and arguments amongst people. However, I just really couldn’t deny all of the similarities of the Holocaust and the pandemic… To the point of these men in power storming in to churches to shut them down and locking the doors… As if gathering in the house of the Lord was the most evil of crimes.
And of course, as they spread the fear of death amongst the world, the unbelievers were terrified of a simple gathering of more than 6 people. As if gathering with our brothers and sisters would cause them to die… But as believers, we know this to be untrue. We know that God is the only one to know when we die, and we knew that the communists were trying to force their way into the world, just as Hitler did.
And the scary part? It worked for the most part. MANY people bowed down to the communists. MANY people gave in. MANY people didn’t see the threat that was so deviously sneaking its way into the world.
And yet… SOMEHOW – by only the grace of God – we managed to fight it off ever so slightly.
And while many will say the world is “back to normal,” the people who stood up – the people who acted in faith instead of staying silent – all know that the ways of the pandemic was just a sneak peak into the world to come. We know that nothing has gone back to normal deep down… That the evil ones are plotting out their next moves and are slowly creating the communist world they so desperately desire.
Because we know the end story – we know the tribulation that is planned to happen and we know that the antichrist will take power of the world one day.
And so we continue to fight. We continue to speak up in the face of evil. We continue to act in faith, for “faith without action is no faith at all” and “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.”
And so, what kind of world do you want to leave to your children? Though we may know the end story – that the world will end in tribulation… We also know the END end – that JESUS CHRIST WINS. He fought the battle against the devil and won. Thus, with Him in our hearts – as we declare Jesus Christ Lord and Saviour over our lives – we win the battle too. We win the battle and get to go to Heaven to be with Jesus.
Let THAT be the kind of world you leave to your children – the world in which they know, that no matter happens here on earth, Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world who has already won the battle against evil, and so long as they know and love Him, they will get to go to Heaven… And with the kind of hope this knowledge brings, our children will continue to spread that hope to everyone around them.
And even though we know the end, doesn’t mean we don’t have to fight. Continue to fight; continue to pray; continue to rebel against what the world wants of you.
And remember: you are God’s chosen people, to be used for his glory and purpose. Share the good news of the gospel and walk in the freedom that only Jesus Christ offers.
And if you choose to watch this movie, I promise you wont regret it! It’s fantastic.
Enjoy and God bless!