Dietrich Bonhoeffer: on the Church being relevant

Was flipping through another book, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Opponent of the Nazi Regime. Very thought-provoking bio of this German pastor's life.

One key issue that he pondered about was the crisis of the Church becoming increasingly irrelevant in the Germany of his time, in the early 20th century - which resulted in its almost complete cooption by the Nazi regime. The salt had lost its saltiness. So he wrote his most famous treatise: The Cost of Discipleship, in which Christianity is not meant to be merely a part of one's life, but rather, to be a Christian means living life as a follower of Christ - in short: total dying to self, and total living to God.

I guess I'm very inspired by his convictions that the Word of God is the absolute standard for all life, in every sphere of our lives, and his keen insights into why the Church of his time was losing its saltiness, and yet his keen belief that the Church is the Body of Christ on earth, and no other institution can replace that. Which is precisely what the Bible says.

So I've been pondering about my own convictions, and I think I need to check my convictions to see if they are aligned with the Word of God. And also, what are my dreams, really? How can His Kingdom come, His Will be done "on earth as it is in heaven"?

And I felt especially challenged, considering the necessity of letting the Word of God guide every aspect of my life, not just thinking or sitting here blogging about it. Again then... love God with all my mind too. :)

Hmm. I've been very helped by the Christian books that I've read, which have all talked about how the Word of God (the Bible) literally has the answer to EVERYTHING in life.

Realised just how much many of us, including myself, lean on our own understanding and reasoning in our daily living - which often turns out to be all too humanly frail.

Hmm. I've been thinking for about one hour plus already on this topic, and think can only reach one conclusion so far: the best way to make an impact in our workplaces, in our daily living, to draw people to Christ... to grow in wisdom and stature, in favour with God and men... can be summed up simply in this:
Luke 10:27
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

Patrick Morely, in his book, The Man in the Mirror, writes on this verse (paraphrased): If all we ever did was to simply live out every day this verse, we would have already made a huge difference in our spheres of influence.

Don't be fooled by the apparent simplicity of this verse. It's an extremely profound statement, and frankly, frankly, I'm certain that you'll find that everything else in the Bible hangs on these two commandments. If you ask yourself WHY the Lord Himself says these two commandments are the greatest, you're already on the road to finding out why.