Part 2

Sin is not only a matter of our lower nature. We all have to fight our lower nature, but some people go

further and fall into satanic sin. Satanic sin is wanting praise for oneself and wanting the glory that belongs only to God. It is the desire for power over the souls and bodies of others so as to be adored, and ultimately it is the desire to be God. It is the way of the Anti christ.

If we give ourselves to satanic sin, all the sins of our lower nature will show themselves too: impurity, mam monism, hypocrisy, envy, hatred, brutality, and finally murder.

From a letter: I thank you for your long and full ac count of your life and for your attempt to confess your sins fully. I have deep compassion with you when I hear about your difficult childhood. When I think what a blessed childhood I myself had, I feel ashamed; God will surely ask more of me than of you.

Your past makes me think of Jesus' words, "I came

Lk. 5:31-32 not for the healthy and the just, but for the sick and the sinners." Do not forget this; hold on to it through all hours of need and temptation.

Dear brother, we need to see and experience the whole Gospel: the exceedingly great love of Jesus to the sinner, for whom he died, but also the sharpness of his parables and his shaking words for those who do not

Mt. 8:12 repent: "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Revelation 22:12–15 contains the essence of the whole Gospel: it tells of the wages paid to everyone who has done good works and of the blessing given to

everyone who has purified his garments in the blood of the Lamb. But then comes a sharpness which we

Rev. 22:15 cannot soften: "Outside are dogs, sorcerers, and forni cators; murderers and idolaters; and all who love and practice deceit."

If we give our hearts to evil, the devil will enter us and rule us. He does this whenever we make our own gods. For the ancient Jews it was a golden calf. Today mam mon–the dollar–has become a god. Therefore God's

Mk. 12:30 First Commandment is to love him with all our heart, mind, and being. Of course, it is impossible to fulfill this commandment without really trusting God – without being able to believe that only good comes from him and that he always means it well with us, on the condition that we do his will.

Jesus' second commandment, which is as impor-

Mk. 12:31 tant as the first, is to love our neighbor as ourselves. The devil will always whisper to us and tell us not to trust our neighbor, and if we listen to him, division, mistrust, and sin will enter our relationships. Here in America we see this especially in racism. But we see it over the whole earth: in war and in every human heart where there is hatred against another.

There is nothing you can hide from God. You might hide your sins from others, but ultimately they will all

Heb. 4:13 come to light, including your secret thoughts. Whether

an evil thought is a sin or not depends on whether you entertain it or take a stand against it. Luther said that evil thoughts come like birds flying over our heads. We cannot help that. But if we allow them to build nests on our heads, then we are responsible for them.

From a letter: I plead with you to turn away for the rest of your life from all hardness and cruelty, espe cially cruelty toward children and sick or weak people. What did Jesus say to his disciples when they wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy the village that refused to take them in? He was shocked by their hard, unchildlike spirit and rebuked them: "You do

Lk. 9:55-56 not know to what spirit you belong. The Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Think always of Jesus; then your heart will change.

From a letter: I do not understand why you came to the church and lied. When Ananias and Sapphira came to join the church at Jerusalem but held back their money dishonestly, Peter asked them, "How did you

Acts 5:4 contrive such an act in your hearts? You have lied not to men but to God." He also told them they could have stayed away from the church and kept what they had for themselves.

Why do you come to join us if at the same time you burden your conscience by lying to God and to us? You will have to give an account for this. Man's destiny

is to die; after that he must be judged by God. If you do not want to face judgment now, you will have to face it later. We will not force you. Hebrews 10:26 –27 says, "If we remain willingly in our sin after we have recognized the truth, there will be no sacrifice for us anymore, but only the expectation of terrible judgment and the wrath of fire."

Heb. 9:27

Heb. 10:26-27

Heb. 12:15 Hebrews 12:15 says that no one should forfeit the hour of God's grace. You are free to continue playing with God, but then we can have nothing to do with you, and you will have to answer to God alone. There is still a chance for you to turn around!

Rom. 8:1-2 There is no condemnation for those who are united with Jesus Christ, because in him the life-giving law of the Spirit has set you free from the law of sin and death." This is such a joyful thought – all sin is over come. But if we look at our own experience we see that it is not overcome everywhere, and the reason is simply that we are not living in Christ Jesus but in our old nature. It is an illusion to think that we do not have this lower nature. We have come into the world with

it, and we ourselves cannot change it, even with the best intentions. But Christ can change it if we trust him and give ourselves unconditionally to him.

"Those who live on the level of their lower nature have their outlook formed by it." We experience this again and again: people whose outlook is based on their lower nature come forth with hatred, jealousy,

Rom. 8:5

and envy–as if Christ had not come, as if he had not died on the cross, as if his sacrifice was in vain. This is extremely painful. Paul says, "The outlook of the lower

Rom. 8:7-8 nature is enmity with God. It is not subject to the law of God; indeed it cannot be: those who live on such a level cannot possibly please God." It cannot be put more strongly: those who cannot overcome their de sires may mean no evil, but in actual fact their lives are hostile to God. They are not subject to his law. This goes for anyone who lives in impurity, hatred, jealousy, deceit, or other sinfulness. It is impossible for him to please God.

Rom. 8 Paul speaks in Romans 8 about the lower or fleshly nature, and we must be clear that this includes our de sires for food, comfort, and sex. All must be subject to the Spirit. We need food and housing, and we affirm sex within marriage, but if these things rule us instead of Christ, we are sinning. God knows that we need food on the table every day, but that must not rule us; we must not become dependent on good food or spoil our children and ourselves. Food is just a simple example, of course. If we are ruled by anything but Christ, even spiritual things – religious thinking and reading – we are living by the flesh. Even if we were to adhere to the most self-mortifying philosophy, like that of the Buddha, it would still be fleshly, because we would be blowing up our pride by putting ourselves in the center instead of Christ.

Everything depends on whether we are completely giv en over to Christ. Romans 8:9 says that he who does not have the spirit of Christ is not even a Christian. Yet we cannot acquire it ourselves; we can only receive it by giving ourselves to him. The Gospel says that "everyone who asks receives . . . to him who knocks, the door will be opened." In other words, he who asks will receive living water without needing to pay anything.

Rom. 8:9

Mt. 7:7-8

We have great compassion with people who struggle in vain, year in and year out, to overcome their weak nesses, but at the same time we must admit that

actually they are guilty. There is no excuse for them, because they do not give themselves in faith to Christ. As Paul writes, "There is no condemnation for those who are united with Christ Jesus, because in him the life-giving law of the Spirit has set us free from the law of sin and death." This possibility is open to everyone. We cannot hide from God and say, "We are too weak," or "We want to change, but cannot." Ultimately these excuses have no foundation. Paul continues:

Rom. 8:1-2

Rom 8:12-13 It follows, my friends, that our lower nature has no claim upon us; we are not obliged to live on that level. If you do so, you must die. But if by the Spirit you put to death all the base pursuits of the body, you will live.

These are very strong words. Who can really say that the lower nature has no claim on him? Such freedom

from sin depends on absolute dedication to Christ. We must put to death every form of sin. Then it will be impossible for jealousy, hatred, impurity, lying, or any other sin to be victorious in us.

There are people who do not break with sin because they think they cannot. But that is an untruth. Jesus Christ is always there, and so is the Holy Spirit, and if any soul really cries out to God, the Spirit will speak to God for him. So there is no excuse whatsoever not to stop sinning. There is no one who has as much com passion and love for sinners as Jesus, but he does not excuse sin. Let us plead that everyone may find free dom from sin in Christ Jesus.

Self-pity and pride, which are closely related, have nothing to do with the cross. Both of them are con cerned only with me, me, me. We must turn away from them, otherwise we cannot experience complete victory over our sinfulness. It is said that in the time of the early church, the demons cried out, "Who is he that robs us of our power?" The believers answered with the exultant shout of victory, "Christ, the cruci fied!"* That should be our proclamation.

* Eberhard Arnold, ed., The Early Christians (Rifton, NY: Plough, 1970), p. 8.

Jn. 13:34 Love one another" is one of the most important com mandments of Jesus, and we cannot take it seriously enough. There are other commandments that we must obey too: we should not love money; we should not commit adultery; we should not defile the flesh; and there are many other sins we must avoid. Yet Christ's greatest command is love. And therefore I think love lessness is the greatest sin.

God will judge all forms of lovelessness, but especially contempt–the act of making someone believe he is a

Mt. 5:22 fool. Christ says, "Anyone who nurses anger against his brother must be brought to judgment...and if he sneers at him, he will have to answer for it in the fires of hell." Who has never been angry with his brother, or never sneered at him? Who has never spoken degrad ingly of another? Christ challenges us to live in perfect love.

From a letter: I feel guilty of being too harsh and even angry at times with my brothers and sisters. We must learn from Jesus how to be kind and gentle. On the other hand, we must never be wishy-washy; our com passion must always be mixed with the salt of Christ.

The idea that we are "in the world" but not "of the world" cannot be understood by the intellect alone.

Certainly, we will remain in the world as long as we live. But we are not to be "of it." Some people say dancing is "of the world" or "of the flesh." Others say it is worldly to wear short dresses. Still others say that alcohol is worldly, or that certain music or certain cars are. There are many so-called worldly things. If we are living in the Holy Spirit, we will feel in our hearts those things of the world which we must give up. May we not desire what is of the flesh; but may we be saved from making rules and regulations to prevent worldli ness! May God show us what is of the Holy Spirit and what is of the spirit of the world.

Jn. 17:15-16

If we had only the Law, we could still hate someone even if we didn't kill him; we could still think evil thoughts of someone without shedding blood. But that is not enough. As Paul rightly says, the Law can never change our hearts. It is Jesus who must live in us. Through him we can love our enemy, and through him we can fill our hearts with thoughts of God.

From a letter: You need to become absolutely deter mined to follow Jesus. It is not true that you are too weak to overcome sin – that is a lie of the devil. In Jesus it is possible to overcome sin. That is why he died on the cross. Live totally for him.

Rom. 7:22-25

Mt. 5:6-8 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice,

blessed are those who are merciful, blessed are those

who are pure in heart." To be pure in heart is perhaps the hardest. It is easier to hunger and thirst for righ teousness or to be compassionate or merciful. We our selves cannot make our hearts pure.

Only children have pure hearts, and therefore Jesus says that we must become like children. Yet we know that even if we strive to become like children, things that are not of God – impurity, envy, and vanity – enter our hearts continually, and so we need to be purified again and again by Christ.

From a letter: I have deep understanding for anyone who feels oppressed and burdened by sins of the past and has a longing to confess them. But confession itself is no help. People pay a lot of money to tell psychiatrists all their sufferings and sins, and these psychiatrists help them to find ways of quietening their consciences. But psychiatry alone does not bring true freedom.

Confession

You say you have confessed your sins but not found freedom. You will find it only when you confess your sins in faith: faith in God and in the cross of Jesus Christ, who died for the world's sins. All other confes sion consists of simply unloading your burdens onto another person, and later the burden will just come back. Peace is found only by those for whom confes sion of sins is bound together with a living faith. I wish you this faith.

With regard to confession: every conscious sin should be confessed, but this does not mean digging in the subconscious for every little thing. Where God tells us through our conscience that something is wrong, we should confess it and clear it up so that it can be forgiven. But confession should not make us self-cen tered; we want to find Jesus, not ourselves.

From a letter: You ask which evil thoughts one ought to confess. Every human being has thoughts come to him to which he must say, "Get behind me, Satan!" If Mt. 16:23

you meet evil thoughts with this attitude you do not need to confess them, though you should forget them as soon as possible. Even if you have to fight against an evil thought for some moments before you reject it, you do not necessarily have to confess it. But if you give in to an evil thought and let it become part of you, you should confess it. I would advise you not to occupy yourself too long with your thoughts.

From a letter: I uphold the sanctity of private confes sion in the fear of God, and I do not think it right if people who unburden their sins are then labelled because of them. However, in keeping the secrecy of confession, there is a point at which I would be sin ning if I kept what I heard to myself. When a member

of the church has committed a serious sin such as for nication or adultery –or even murder (which has never yet happened to us) –I would feel I was betraying God if I kept quiet about it.

The Bible says we must fight against the flesh, and people usually understand this to mean our sexuality, or perhaps excessive food and drink. But that is not the only meaning of the word "flesh." Certainly, sexual impurity and a luxurious lifestyle are "of the flesh," but so is the ego, and so is spiritual pride and everything else in us that is not of Christ.

Spiritual Pride

We must ask God that the flesh in us –particularly our pride–may die. If we are proud, God cannot come to us. Pride is the worst form of the flesh, because it leaves no room in the heart for God.

Jesus warns us very sharply against false piety –against wanting to be seen by others as "spiritual" or "good." All who want such recognition will find no reward in heaven. In being honored by others they have their reward already now. The same applies to people who do deeds of love and make a show of it. Christ says that the left hand should not know what the right hand does.

Mt. 6:3

We all have within us the desire to be liked, respected, or honored for our goodness. But Jesus warns us against this temptation and says that our piety should not be paraded before men. God sees what is hidden, and he will reward it.

As soon as we feel that we are something special or that we have something special to represent to others, we are in danger of losing everything we have received from God. No matter what we have experienced of God, we ourselves are still spiritually poor. There is a religious truth in Jesus' words, "Woe to the rich; woe to those who have much." As soon as we hold to our Lk. 6:24-25

own recognitions of truth instead of to the living God, our religious experience will become like a cold stone in our hands. Even the deepest or richest spiritual ex perience will die if it becomes a thing in itself.

From a letter: Dear brother, you have been proud of your work; you have thought little of your brothers and sisters, and you have lived in false humility, which is the deadliest form of spiritual pride. There is no question that you are gifted, that you are strong, that you are smart, and that you can get a lot done, but that is not the issue. We do not live together on ac count of these gifts. They are all mortal and will pass

away. What lasts forever is humility and love –love, the incorruptible "treasure in heaven" of which Jesus speaks in the Sermon on the Mount.

Mt. 5-7

When John the Baptist did not eat, the people despised him, and when Jesus ate and drank, they despised him too. Looking at one's brothers and sisters as if through a microscope to find something to criti cize can bring complete destruction to a community. Let us not expect of others what we do not expect of ourselves.

Mt. 11:18-19

From a letter: Dear sister, turn away from your opinionatedness and your need to be in the right. How different things would be if you had a humble, listen ing ear. When we speak, let us be open to the heart of the other. Let us share with one another and listen to one another. Ultimately we have to see that we are all stumbling blocks. Only God is good.

From a letter: Your way of judging people to be either great or insignificant, weak or strong, is completely unchristian. Do you think the apostles were strong? They were poor in spirit. Peter was without doubt a coward when he denied Jesus three times, and his story has been told through all the centuries. He was not ashamed that his betrayal was recorded in each of the

Gospels, even though he repented for it his whole life long. You want to be great; you want to be strong, but by it you do an injustice to your brothers and sisters.

When Jesus comes close to people, he looks at what is in their hearts. He has compassion with the sinner. But he never calls sin good; he judges it. You must cleanse your heart of all critical thoughts, all jealousy, and all hatred, and you must stop classifying people. I think of you with great love.

From a letter: Do not fear that you can never be freed from pride and envy. You can be freed. But first you must see how much greater Jesus is than all your sins, and then he can take them away. Ask yourself, "What is there still in me that hinders Jesus from overwhelm ing me fully?" For Jesus to fill your heart, it must first be empty. Read the Beatitudes: they begin with

Mt. 5:3-12 "Blessed are the poor in spirit." That means becoming completely empty and powerless before Jesus.

From a letter: The more deeply you recognize that your pride cuts you off from God, the deeper the peace you will find. The pride you have in your wealth of knowledge is your greatest enemy. If only you would recognize how poor and miserable you actually are, dear brother, and how wretched you are in your sin! I wish you true repentance.

From a letter: I cannot say it strongly enough: your spiritual pride–your listening to God's Word in order to be exalted, instead of to be judged and given new life – is completely opposed to the way of Jesus. Give up your religious vanity. It leads to death.

From a letter: I believe that your bondage to sin has its roots in a terrible self-righteousness and pride. When you see little wrongs in others you feel spiritually great. It should be the other way around. As Christians we should be lowly and remember that whoever is for given much loves much. Pride is a poisonous root that cf. Lk. 7:47

draws love to itself and away from Jesus and our broth ers. If we are humble, the root will die, because it will find no food and water in our hearts.

In Paul's time some believers proclaimed Christ out

Phil. 1:15 of jealousy and a quarrelsome spirit, not out of good will. This was terrible, and it came about because they wanted human honor. Let us become humble and recognize that all human honor takes honor away from God, to whom alone it belongs. Let us honor no one but God, and let us never accept honor for ourselves.

What matters is that God works in us, inspiring both our will and deed. For him to do this we must give ourselves to him and give up all self-glory and honor.

Self Those whose thoughts turn only around themselves forget that Christianity has an objective content. Christianity is a cause for which a person must com pletely forget himself and his little ego.

When we put ourselves in the center we make God out to be very small. It is important to recognize that he exists even without us. His cause is so very much greater than our existence. It is wonderful if we are used for God's cause, but it would exist even if we were not there.

The best way to experience nothing is to keep looking into yourself. But the more you are able to look out ward and forget yourself, the more you can be changed by God. There are some people (and I have great pity on them) who are inclined to watch themselves con stantly, as if in a mirror, and because of this they are often unnecessarily tense and cannot hear what God is saying to them.

We cannot redeem ourselves or better ourselves in our own strength. All we can do is to give ourselves completely to God. When we give ourselves to him without reserve, he helps us. That is our faith, our be lief, and our experience. Self-redemption is out of the question, and here we must recognize the limitations

of psychology and psychiatry. We do not reject them completely, but they are limited. God is far greater.

From a letter: If you look at yourself honestly you will see pride, impurity, selfishness, and all kinds of evil. Don't look at yourself. Look to Christ. There you will find a perfect character.

From a letter: Turn away from yourself, the fear of your sin, and your fear of having possibly sinned. Open yourself to God and his church. He is not so unmerciful that you need to live in constant fear.

You are inclined to analyze and judge yourself in a way that does not free you. There is a sense in which judging yourself can make you free: Paul says that he who judges himself will not be judged. But there is a certain self-judgment which brings terrible depres sion and leads away from God. The difference lies in whether or not you have a childlike faith in Jesus Christ, who wants to free us from all sin. Judge your self in this faith and there will be a blessing on it. The way you are judging yourself now could make you mentally ill and even lead to complete disaster.

1Cor. 11:31

It may be that you have a strong inclination to this or that sin, but this tendency is there to some extent in every person –and every person has to die to it. Every

thing depends on believing that Christ died for your sins. Read Hebrews 5:7–9 with a childlike heart:

Heb. 5:7-9 In the days of Christ's earthly life he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to God, who was able to deliver him from the grave. Because of his humble submission, his prayer was heard: Son though he was, he learned obedience in the school of suffering, and, once perfected, became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

If you really believe this, you can find healing.

From a letter: If we think of how much Jesus does for us each day, it should keep us faithfully seeking him again and again. You feel you have nothing to give Jesus in return. But even if you have to recognize your selfishness and your lack of love, I do not think your depression is right. The early Christians said that there is a sorrow that leads to God and a sorrow that leads to the devil. If you think deeply about these words, you will turn from all depression that hinders love.

From a letter: Please give up your wanting to be loved. It is the opposite of Christianity. The prayer of St. Francis says, "Grant that I may not so much seek to be

loved as to love." As long as you seek to be loved, you will never find peace. You will always find reasons for envy, but its real root is self-love. It is your wanting to be loved that is your downfall. You can change; there is no reason for despair. But you must learn to love your neighbor as yourself.

Purity

From a letter: Jesus says, "Blessed are the pure of heart." This is the only answer to your question about relationships between young men and women. The fight against the Tempter goes on everywhere. Jesus says we should rather pluck out an eye than look lust fully at a woman. Only this attitude can give us a pure heart. We cannot make our hearts pure with our own efforts, but we can take this attitude, and then God will help us to victory.

Mt. 5:8

Mt. 5:27-29

Purity of heart comes as a gift from God, and the church must fight to protect it. We oppose lust just as much as we oppose private property and the spirit of murder. Purity is God's will, and every wedding in the church must be a testimony to it, as also the life of every member. Purity is a blessing. Whether it is given in a marriage or to a single person, a great grace lies on a pure life.

We must not underestimate the armies of impure spirits that drive man to evil. When we play with

impurity, we put ourselves under the dominion of demons, and our sexuality–which is meant to be a wonderful experience of God –becomes a terrible and life-destroying experience. This is true not only in prostitution, but also when a person satisfies himself through committing impure acts on his own body. A man should not think he can indulge in masturba tion without suffering harm from it; he hurts God and himself in doing so. He allows evil spirits to dwell within him–devils of whose cruel character he has no inkling – and an atmosphere of evil will come from him.

The blatant impurity shown on television and in magazines and movies is a publicly committed crime, and we must protest it. It ruins the souls of children and young people. Everything has become permissi ble–one thinks, for instance, of how homosexual acts have been legalized –and it has done terrific harm to the purity of the young. Something in the conscience of man has been killed.

In the end, lust leads to murder –just think of the limitless numbers of abortions that have taken place since it became legal. And think of the mental agony that young girls and women suffer who are guilty of killing the child in their womb. The number of mental breakdowns that result from this are incalculable. Jesus is the only answer to all this, and we must unitedly testify to his way in a world that has grown very dark.

When a person gratifies sexual impulses on his own body, he harms his soul, which is made in God's im age. It is desecration to employ something destined for a sublime end in a manner contrary to that destiny. In the same way that royalty would be debased by being enslaved, so man debases his noble destiny as an image of God when he abuses his own body sexually.

From a letter: Dear brother, it is not necessary for your whole life to be cramped up in a struggle for personal purity. But you must give up all secret attraction to impurity. That is where your inner cramping comes from. Jesus can free you completely of this. If you know you are utterly dependent on him, then there is hope for you.

From a letter: Dear sister, it seems to me that there is an atmosphere of eroticism around you, and I want to warn you about this. There is nothing surprising about the fact that the powers of eroticism and sex are problems any person has to face, and you are no differ ent from anyone else. But I plead with you to value the gift of purity–the light of absolute chastity and virgin ity. Do not let the smallest shadow of an overly casual relationship with boys or men come into your life, also not in the way you dress or the way you walk. Please take this advice as from someone who loves you.

From a letter: Dear brother, you say you have not resisted evil, especially in the area of sex. It is of great importance that you take a stand for Jesus' sake. I know it is often hard to do, especially at college. But as the times become more and more corrupt, it will be necessary to have a strong character and say "No" to things which the general public approves of. I wish you the courage to do this.

From a letter: You must seek a pure heart. Then you will stop sinning when impure images or your imagi nation or anything else tempts you.

You recognize that you must break away from these things, but you also acknowledge that you were play ing around with them. That is sinful. Apathy and indifference will only weaken your stand against temp tation. In the end it boils down to whether or not your life is founded on Jesus. You will find a pure heart only in him.

Trust

Why is it so hard to believe Christ and trust him completely? Christ wants to give us his life and spirit, and if we look to him for only a moment, our hearts tell us: Here is one we can trust. Yet each of us knows feelings of fear and anxiety. Something in us seeks Christ, and at the same time something in us wants to serve self and is unwilling to surrender to him com pletely. But that is what we must do, for the Gospel

Jn. 14:1 says "trust and believe." It is not enough to give Christ what is good in us, or to give him our sins, or to bring him our burdens. He wants our entire selves. If we do not give ourselves to him completely –if we hold on to our reservations –we will never find the full inner free dom and peace promised in the Gospel. We must give Christ our innermost being.

Often the power of darkness puts fear into our hearts and keeps us from full dedication to God. When Jesus said in the synagogue, "Unless you eat my flesh

Jn. 6:53 and drink my blood, you can have no life," even his followers found these words hard to accept, and many of them left him. But when Jesus asked the Twelve,

Jn. 6:67-69 "Will you also leave me?" Peter responded, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have faith, and we know that you are the holy One

of God." Such faith must live in us too – in our hearts, our souls, and our whole being. It must become a reality in us again and again: not a religious system, not a theory, but the knowledge that we can trust Jesus completely and give him everything – our whole lives –for all eternity. It is not necessary for us to understand everything intellectually. It is much more important to experience trust and faith in our hearts and being.

Apart from Jesus we will find no peace. Where he is, there is God. He is there even for those who leave him, as did many people in his time who found his words too difficult to accept. Therefore we pray for ourselves and for them, "Lord, help us. Come into this world. We need thee, thy flesh, thy spirit, thy death and life, and thy message for the whole creation."

We should fear neither our enemies nor the slander and persecution that may come to us. We should trust in Jesus. He was also slandered and persecuted. We do not want anything better. If we turn in complete trust and love to Jesus, I feel absolutely sure that we will be kept under the loving protection of God.

We must believe and trust that Jesus is the answer to all our perplexities, problems, and anxieties. I have not always trusted Jesus enough, but I recognize my lack of trust as sin. Life is not without perplexities or anxiet ies. Yet we know where to turn. It is very simple: if you

don't understand something, trust Jesus. This is not always easy; sometimes it costs an inner fight to do so

Jn. 14:1 wholeheartedly. But Jesus says, "Trust in God and trust also in me." That is the only answer.

From a letter: I would advise you not to puzzle too much about difficult questions of faith, such as why God might use a man whom he loves as a tool of his wrath. We do not know enough about God's love. The only answer to such questions is complete, uncondi tional trust.

From a letter: Even when we are in inner need we must forget ourselves and give ourselves in daily service to those around us. Then God will help us. It is not necessarily good for us to keep on talking about our problems or to share our difficulties again and again. God knows what we need before we ask him. Trust in him like a child. Then he will help you.

If we feel tempted to lose trust in each other because of struggles we have gone through, or for any other reason, we must find inner quiet. We must have an attitude of trusting dedication to Jesus that says, "not my will, but Thy will" and makes us absolutely quiet inwardly. Without this strengthening trust, I person ally could not go through one day. The Bruderhof will

pass away; we will all pass away; ultimately, Jesus alone will be victor.

From a letter: I know from mothers of little children that they are sometimes afraid of the terrible things that may happen to their children in today's world. I can put myself in their shoes very well. My first children were born during the bombing of England in World War II, when bombers passed over us every night. Twice bombs dropped nearby –one on our land, and one in the next village. But greater than our fear of bombs was our fear that Hitler would conquer England. For us adults that would have meant death, and it brought unspeakable inner need to me when I thought about what would happen to our children.

We are not living in fear of bombers now, but our time is one of great suffering and death. It is entirely possible that many of us–including parents of little children –may one day have to suffer and die for our faith. I beg you –from the depths of my heart –to trust God completely. There are many frightening passages in the Bible, especially in the Revelation of John. But even there it says that God himself will wipe away the tears of all those who have suffered. We must really

Rev. 21:4 believe that Jesus came not to bring judgment but to bring salvation:

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not die but have eternal life. It was not to

J. 3:16-17 judge the world that God sent his Son into the world, but that through him the world might be saved.

Here we see the indescribable longing of God to save humankind. At the end we shall be one with God. We must believe this, for our children too, even if we have to suffer for Jesus' sake.

Like sunshine over a valley, God's great love spreads out over the whole earth. It is true that there are ter rible things in the world, such as war; and wars will come, but God is greater. He is much greater than man, and his love is much greater than man's. Do not live in fear. Look down across the valley and toward the mountains, and think of the great God who cre ated all things, and who has you in his hand.

If we live according to Jesus and his teachings, we have no reason to be afraid. Let us be faithful to him and to God and leave all fear behind.

Learn to trust Jesus always, even when you cannot understand something. Situations will often arise in life without your understanding why. The only answer is to trust Jesus.

You will go through very hard times, but never for get that the final victory is God's. Always believe this.

Rev. 21:1 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but a new heaven and a new earth are coming.

Reverence

We should fear God, and we should fear hurting or offending anything created, but we should not be afraid of God. The Bible speaks of the fear of God, but there is a different fear that leads away from God and makes love grow cold. Woe to us if we confuse the right fear with the wrong. Our fear should be born of love and reverence.

When Peter recognized Jesus as the Son of God he said, "Depart from me; I am a sinful man." He was afraid to be confronted with the purity of Jesus. Such fear is right. But fear that takes away trust and con fidence or destroys one's childlikeness is wrong. We must fear God in the right way.

Lk. 5:8

From a letter: John writes that he who has fear is not perfect in love. This has given me much food for thought, because several of the parables of Jesus, like that of the ten virgins, could make one fearful. The Book of Revelation, too, can be frightening. And Jesus says that even though we should not fear men who can kill the body, we should fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. So there is a fear of God that is

1Jn. 4:18

Mt. 25:1-13

Mt. 10:28

right and good. Ultimately, if we are in God we will fear nothing but God. That is the perfect state for a Christian.

We have always been reserved in using the name of God, not only because our own inner feeling makes us cautious but because the Ten Commandments say: "You shall not use the name of the Lord your God in vain." It is important for parents to teach their chil dren to respect God so that misusing his name will not even come into question for them.

Ex. 20:7

People are so terribly inclined to forget God and his deeds of love. That is the worst thing that can happen to humankind. When no one is interested in God any longer–when no one wants to know about him or tes tify to him–it is even worse than being hostile toward him, because hostility at least shows an interest.

We should be stimulated by the story of Simeon and Anna, who expected the Messiah on behalf of the whole people of Israel. It does not matter if there are only two –for even then the earth has not entirely forgotten God. We should be eager to testify to him, to love him, and to expect his coming.

Lk. 2:25-39

Surrender

Despite the circumstances of our time we must be open and free to live for God's will for the future –for brotherly community and the kingdom of God. We must be ready and willing to give up our resistance to God; then he will work in us through his Holy Spirit.

God is always ready, always there. It is we who are not ready for his cause. If we would only yield to God's authority, to the way of Jesus, and to the power of the Spirit, then the flame which gives light to the whole world could be kindled.

We know Jesus' commands: "Leave everything you have, and come follow me! Sell all your possessions." "Do not wait to bury your father." "Leave your fishing boat and your tools and come with me!"

Mt. 19:21

Mt. 8:22

Mt. 4:19

The disciples, too, knew Jesus' commands. They also knew that every man –each in his own way –is "rich" enough to resist them by holding on even to the little he has; to tell Jesus, "I cannot come." That is why they asked, horrified, "Then how can anyone be saved?" Jesus answered, "It is impossible for men. But with God all things are possible."

Lk. 4:20

Mt. 19:25-26

If we open ourselves to God's working and give up our self-will, he is always ready to give us faith and love.

God wants us to ask him for help. It is not that he cannot or does not want to act without our asking, but he waits for us to open our hearts and lives so that he and only he can act.

Many people ponder why God is like this, why he doesn't force his will on men. But that is how God is. He waits for our readiness. It is true that he punishes individuals and nations to call them to repentance, but he never forces his goodness on them. If a parent were to take his child by the throat and force his good intentions on him, the child would instinctively feel that this was not love. For the same reason, God does not force his will on anyone. So we are confronted by a momentous question: Are we willing to surrender ourselves to God voluntarily? Are we willing to open the windows of our hearts so that God in his goodness can enter and take over?

We have to give ourselves wholeheartedly to God, and if we fail, we must give ourselves again. We all need daily forgiveness for our sins and failures. But what matters is whether we want to be faithful –faithful to the end of our lives. This means surrendering every thing–our self-will, our hopes for personal happiness, our private property, even our weaknesses –and believ ing in God and in Christ. That is all that is asked of anyone. Jesus does not expect perfection, but he wants us to give ourselves wholeheartedly.

From a letter: What is true and unconditional sur render? A person may yield to a stronger person, or an army to a stronger army. One may yield to God because he is almighty, or because one fears his judg ment. None of this is full surrender. Only if one expe riences that God is good –and that he alone is good–is it possible to surrender to him unconditionally one's whole heart, soul, and being.

When a person has surrendered to God with heart and soul, he will then seek others in whom the same love is clearly expressed and surrender to them also. But he can commit himself to others only if his first commitment is to God.

From a letter: If we ever found a group –even if it were a much smaller group than ours – where the love of Jesus was expressed more fully and clearly than it is among us, I hope and believe that we would want to join them, even if it meant losing our Bruderhof identity.

From a letter: God must lead us to the point where we recognize how wretched and weak we are –yes, how poor in spirit and completely helpless. Whoever feels even the least bit strong must have his weakness re vealed to him. When God shows us how wretched and poor we actually are, we feel completely helpless before him. But then he helps us with his grace and strength

ens us with his unending love. We are absolutely de pendent on God, on Christ, and on the Holy Spirit. There is no other help.

Surrendering to the will of Jesus means becoming one with him and with one another. Jesus fought so hard to surrender his will to the Father's that he sweated

drops of blood. Evil powers surrounded him and tried to cause his downfall, but he remained faithful: his at titude was "Thy will, not my will." This should be our attitude, too, in all questions, even if we are persecuted for our faith. Whatever happens, imprisonment or even death, we should say, "Thy will, not my will."

Lk. 22:42

Christ says, "You did not choose me; I chose you. I appointed you and put you in your place; you shall go and bear fruit, fruit that shall last." This is so very important: "I put you in your place."* How often a person causes terrible harm when he is not satisfied with his place in life. Such dissatisfaction leads to ha tred. We should love one another and accept the place God has given each of us.

Submission

Jn. 15:16

Mt. 21:1-7 When Jesus sent two disciples to fetch a donkey's colt on Palm Sunday, they had no other task in the whole

* This phrase, although omitted in most English versions of the Bible, is in several German ones. See Albrecht, Das Neue Testament (Giessen, 1972, 10th ed.).

world more important than fetching it. If someone had said to them, "You are called to greater things; anyone can fetch a donkey," and they had not done it, they would have been disobedient. But there was noth ing greater for them at that moment than to fetch the donkey for Christ. For myself and for each individual I wish that we might do every task, great or small, in this obedience. There is nothing greater than obedi ence to Christ.

Jesus calls each of us to be humble. If a person seeks human greatness, Christian community is not the place for him. Any one of us might be tempted by ambition, but we must take an attitude against such temptation.

Humility

From a letter: It is good to be weak. Our human weak ness is no hindrance to the kingdom of God, as long as we do not use it as an excuse for our sins. Read 2 Corinthians 12:7–9, where Paul writes that the Lord will show himself in the most glorious way through our weakness. Certainly this is not the most important passage for the church as a whole, but it is perhaps the most important passage in the Gospel as regards per sonal discipleship.

2 Cor. 12:7-9

From a letter: In reading the Gospel of Mark, I have been struck by how Jesus emphasizes our need for hu

mility. He did not come to be served but "to serve and

Mk. 10:45 to give his life as a ransom for many." This must be our way too, even though we know we fall very short of fulfilling it.

Mt. 5:3-12 The Beatitudes do not call for great saints who shine in the world, but for lowly people.

From a letter: If you know you are sometimes critical and lack humility, then seek humility. Humility is a virtue that one can decide for. It softens the heart and makes a person open for God. Criticism is not neces sarily wrong; it can be positive. But it can also be very destructive.

We should not think too much about our small hearts or our weak characters. No one is pure and good ex cept Jesus. His is the only really healthy character, and in his unending mercy, he can purify our hearts for his purpose. Let us give ourselves to him so he can lead us and use us as he will. Let us turn our back on the

Gen. 4:5 temptation of Cain, who envied his brother's closeness to God. Let us be joyful in simply belonging to Jesus, and willing to let him place us where we can bear the most fruit to the glory of God.

From a letter: If we accept the weakness and small ness of our lives in a way that leads us to humility before God, we will recognize that our only help lies in complete surrender to him and dependence on him. It might be a very painful recognition, but the victory will be life!

Phil. 2:3 Paul says, "There must be no room for rivalry and personal vanity among you." He does not only mean the vanity of wanting to look beautiful –which is also unchristian–but the religious vanity of people who want to shine among men and be honored by them. There should be no room for such vanity among us. He continues, "You must humbly reckon others bet ter than yourselves." That is the opposite of wanting to outshine one's brother or sister. If we want to fol low Jesus, how can we want to make ourselves great or

Phil. 2:8 important? Jesus "humbled himself, and in obedience accepted even death – death on a cross."

Sincerity

How important it is that our life is genuine and remains genuine, and that we do no more –but also not the least bit less–than God requires of us at any moment! There is a danger of coming to an intellec tual recognition of the truth and then living a life that conforms to it, when the truth is not yet actually given by God into our hearts and souls.

Let us never use religious words when we do not mean them. If we speak admiringly about discipleship but resist its demands at the same time, it will harm our soul and our inner life. Let us be reserved with reli gious terms and expressions of faith. Using them with out meaning them will destroy us –and our hypocrisy will be especially disastrous for our children.

Mt. 6:5 Jesus warns us sharply against trying to appear de vout in other people's eyes. Let us be genuine and say what we truly think, even if we are off the mark, rather than use the right words without meaning them.

From a letter: According to old Jewish tradition, the

high priest uses the name Jehovah only once a year – on the Day of Atonement –and then only in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. For us, such reverence in the use of religious words is an important form of inner chastity. We are very cautious in using God's name.

From a letter: It is important to be straightforward and honest about your true feelings. Rather be too rude than too smooth, too blunt than too kind. Rather say an unkind word that is true than one that is "nice" but untrue. You can always be sorry for an unkind word, but hypocrisy causes permanent harm unless special grace is given.

The Youth Movement, in which our Bruderhof move ment has its roots, was marked by a search for what was genuine, and there was something of Jesus alive in it.* The first question people asked was not whether a thing was right, good, or true, but whether it was gen uine. They preferred to have someone innocently say something incorrect or awkward than to have to listen to insincere religious speeches. They rejected parrotlike religion; they struggled to find the truth.

From deep within people's hearts there arose a new

* The German Youth Movement, or Jugendbewegung, a widespread phenomenon of loosely organized youth groups, was active mainly from 1913-1933 and rejected the established conventions of society in favor of simplicity, freedom, genuineness, and a love of nature. Eberhard Arnold, who founded the Bruderhof in 1920, was a nationally-known writer, speaker, and leader in this movement.

approach to life, a new feeling for life that expressed itself in many ways. This inward urge led to fellowship in hiking, singing, and folk dancing, and even in com munal settlements. A gathering around a blazing fire became a deeply-felt inner experience, and the rhyth mic movement of a circle dance brought to expression something from the depths of the heart. There was an effort to give shape only to what was truly genuine, and it meant rejecting all human pretense, including fashion. The inner experience was all-important, and it found vivid expression in every area of life.

From a letter: It is not the obvious sinner who stands in the way of God. God's greatest enemies are those who receive and accept Christ's call to discipleship but then–despite their use of religious language –continue to serve Satan at the same time.

Most of Jesus' parables deal with such people, not with people of the world. The ten virgins in Matthew 25 all go out to seek the Bridegroom, but five of them fall asleep; and in Matthew 24:48–49 the servant is appointed by his master but becomes unfaithful, and so on. That is what hinders God's kingdom the most: when those who have heard his call and answered it go on to serve Satan while still using Christian words.

Mt. 25

Mt. 24:48-49

If we stay close to Jesus, we will find genuineness in its clearest form. How sharply he speaks against the piety that tries to cleanse from the outside! How clearly he

Mt. 23:26-28 tells us that the inside must first be cleansed!

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that being rooted and es tablished in love you may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Eph 3:16-19

The Church

The Church.......................................................89 Community.......................................................96 Leadership .........................................................106 Gifts ..................................................................114 Forgiveness ........................................................121 Unity .................................................................128 Church Discipline..............................................134 Baptism..............................................................141 The Lord's Supper..............................................147 Love and Marriage.............................................151 Family Life.........................................................169 Illness and Death ...............................................188 Evil and Darkness..............................................197 The Fight...........................................................205 World Suffering.................................................217 Mission..............................................................226

The Church

We know humankind is tormented and divided. Part of this torment is loneliness, which can be overcome only by experiencing the living church. This church cannot be identified with a specific group or organiza tion, but it does exist; it lives and comes down to hum ble, seeking people. The fact that the church exists is the most important reality on earth. When God speaks in the innermost chamber of our hearts, our sinful separation and loneliness are overcome; we experience inner community with our brothers and sisters.

We cannot say that the church is here or there. The church comes down from heaven to those who are spiritually poor. It comes to those who give up all things for Christ's sake, including their own ideas and rights. This can happen anywhere, and when it does it always brings people together in unity.

According to the early Christians, the church ex isted even before creation. It exists in the Holy Spirit. Christ sends the church wherever two or three meet together in his name–and wherever they give up all rights, power, property, and self for him.

When we are asked whether we are the church, we have to say, "No, we are not the church." But when we are asked whether the church comes to us, we have to testify that it does, especially if we are broken and poor before God. The poorer a group is spiritually, the closer the church can come to it. Our own ideas, espe cially the idea of having influence or power over other people, must be given up completely. We must become poor as beggars before God.

If we speak of the true church, we certainly do not mean the Bruderhof. We simply mean all those who live their lives in full unity with Christ. Only the fruits can show where this is.

In the writings of the early Christians, for instance in Hermas' The Shepherd, we find again and again the thought that the church existed before anything was created.* It is a deep and remarkable thought –a complete contrast to the idea of a little congregation or even a gathering of millions of people calling them selves the church.

When we speak of the Bruderhof movement as a church, we certainly do not mean to imply that this is the church. The church is something far greater. It goes back to the beginning of all things, before the creation

* Eberhard Arnold, ed., The Early Christians (Rifton, NY: Plough, 1970), p. 278 ff.

of the world. But we long that it is at work today, also among us.

The 16th century Anabaptist Peter Riedemann compares the gathering of believers in the church to a lantern. A lantern is of no use unless there is a light in it. The same is true for the church. It may hold all goods in common, with no private property; it may have love, complete dedication, and true community. But that does not guarantee it is alive. The church is a gift from God. It comes to the spiritually poor, and it is united and enlivened by the Holy Spirit.

From a letter: In this hour of world need and world despair there is nothing more important than a life of brotherhood, a life of unity and love. It may be so small in comparison to the whole of world need that it is almost invisible, but it will have an effect.

People today do not need long sermons or religious words; they need to be shown deeds and a practical way of discipleship. Our time needs the tangible dem onstration that God is stronger than all hate, all need, all sin, and all disunity.

God needs a people who devote their lives com pletely, without reservation, to his cause. They should be people who do not consider their own salvation first but who intercede in prayer for the needs of men and hope and believe in the victory of God.

A true community cannot exist for a single day with out the gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, whether in our being together, in our silence, or in our singing together, we expect and await this gift which God has offered us through the death of Jesus.

It is said that the early church was of one heart and one soul. It may not have been a well-organized body, but it was of one heart and one soul. Its members were moved by the Spirit from above, and through this movement it came about that they held everything in common, and no one called anything his own. It was not a matter of cold law–not organized commu nism–but a matter of moved hearts.

Acts 4:32

From a letter: It is not we who can build brother hood–not we who can found a church or change even a single human being. We are all completely dependent on the atmosphere or spirit of God ruling among us. Yet at the same time we all have an influence on this atmosphere, and so it is the responsibility of each of us to see that no spirit opposed to God is allowed to come into our lives.

If we are faithful to Jesus, we will also be faithful to one another. We belong to one another. If someone dedicates himself to Jesus, he will be united with other believers, and they will become so united that they are like one body. In the human body, if anything threat

1 Cor 12:12-27

ens the eye, the arm will move quickly to protect it, even if it is injured in doing so. This happens automat ically, as if out of love. It is the same among those who dedicate themselves to Christ and to each other. Each should be willing to suffer for the other–the stronger one for the weaker.

From a letter: In Jesus and his spirit we all become one, even one with the church in heaven, with the apostles and martyrs, and with all those who have been and are one with Jesus. But if our love shifts away from Jesus, the Redeemer and Savior of the world, then even our faith in the church becomes idolatry.

It is a paradox: we must separate ourselves from our corrupt generation –and we cannot do that sharply enough–but we must also unite with Christ, who died for every individual of this same generation. What we as a church need most is to find the crucified Christ, the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world. If we are united with Christ, we will not be cold-hearted, whether toward a girl who has had an abortion or to anyone else who does any other evil; we will have com passionate hearts.

From a letter: The Bruderhof has certain characteris tics which arise partly from its European background

and other historical circumstances. The same is true of the Church of the Brethren, the Quakers, or other religious movements. I can well understand that people feel a certain love and attachment to the culture and, still more, the people of their background.

But let us consider for a moment the "community of believers," the Body of Christ that has continued through all the centuries. What is the Bruderhof, then, with its culture? Whatever good there may be in it is there only insofar as it is surrendered to and gripped by this stream of life. The Bruderhof movement will pass away as many movements have passed away, but the stream of life of which it is a part can never pass away. That is what matters.

If we had made up our minds to be a Christian community of German culture, serving only those people with a background in the Youth Movement, we would have been in danger of drying up even before we began. We want to surrender our lives completely and allow ourselves to be used wherever God moves people's hearts, to be open to whatever God gives us. Otherwise we are in danger of limiting the truth.

We are only a weak circle of human beings –often all too human. But our task can never be limited. God is limitless.

The older I get, the less important the Bruderhof is to me. The main thing is that God's praying church exists on this earth. It is for this that we want to give our

selves, and for this that we want to live.

We need to feel a certain inner urgency; we cannot let life pass by without giving ourselves completely to the church. The church was with God before the world was created, and it is now with God in heaven as the "upper church," the cloud of witnesses from every nation, tribe, and race. We cannot stand undecided before this holy reality.

From a letter: Are we as a church so dedicated, so full of truth and salt, that we are able to influence the whole earth in the way that even a pinch of salt flavors a whole dish of food? It is not enough to live together in community, to love one another and make each other happy; to make jam for our neighbor, who then makes jam for her neighbor. More is demanded.

I believe that we are living in the end time. It is a crucial hour. Everything depends on whether our lamps are trimmed, whether we are ready to meet the Bridegroom. Jesus' farewell words in the Gospel of John make it clear: the church must be so united that the world can recognize God as the Father who sent Jesus. It shakes me to the depths of my heart to ask, Are we really showing this to the world?

Mt. 25:1-13

Jn. 17:21

Community

We must give up all private property and all thirst for collecting things for ourselves. The enjoyment of wealth for oneself, one's family, or even one's commu nity leads to inner death. Wealth brings about death because it isolates the heart from God and from one's fellowman. We seek an answer to this in sharing every thing in a way that makes it impossible to fall into the sin of collective wealth. Our door is open to everyone who seeks God and the truth. Under the stewardship of the church, everything is available to anybody in need.

The way of Jesus means complete possessionlessness! We have chosen this way, and our children must know that from an early age. They should know that our money belongs to God and not to us. Jesus says we should not store up treasure for ourselves on earth, but seek our treasure in heaven.

Mt. 19:21

Mt. 6:19-20

From a letter: You ask, "How can we, as separate per sons and families, become part of each other?" This has

to be given by the spirit of Jesus. But first we must be completely emptied of our own ideas, ideals, and be ing; we must be there fully for Jesus and his spirit.

From a letter: There is no substitute for the actual experience of Christian community, the movement of God's spirit, and the unity of believers in the church. So I write this realizing that words can never contain the spirit of God's love, which moves among those who are surrendered to him in all things.

In answer to your question about the scriptural basis for our life, there is Luke 14:33, where Christ states clearly that only those who renounce all that they have can be his disciples. There is also John 16:13, which says that when the spirit of truth comes, he will guide men into all truth. This occurred at Pentecost, when the disciples were of one heart and one soul and held all their goods in common. See also 1 Corinthians 12, especially verses 25–26. We find it hard to take this passage at full value in non-communal church life. The same is true of 2 Corinthians 8:13 –15.

Lk. 14:33

Jn. 16:13

Acts 2:44

Acts 4:32-34

1 Cor. 12:25-26

2 Cor. 8:13-15

At Pentecost love overflowed from the hearts of those who were moved by the Spirit: the believers were full of love for God and for one another. I don't think you would deny that "great grace was upon them all" when this happened. Community of goods was the outcome of this love and grace. This communion of love is a far cry from the Christianity of today, when, for instance, people thankfully testify in their church

Acts 4:33

paper that since they have started tithing, God has made their business prosper in a wonderful way.

It would be misrepresenting the facts to say that the main foundation of our belief is the sharing of money and possessions. That is an outcome of our faith, not its foundation. It is the fruit of full surrender to Christ and his love. We give back everything God has given us–our possessions, our talents, and our lives –to be controlled by him and his spirit alone.

In answer to your question whether this will help win souls to Christ, we would say no. Simply sharing goods does not necessarily lead to Christ. But when it is the result of overflowing love, it can lead to him. Many of us at the Bruderhof come from unchristian backgrounds. It was the living-out of brotherhood and love that attracted us. We were tired of words; they are cheap and can be heard almost anywhere, for who will say that he is against brotherhood and love? We did not seek words, but deeds; not stones, but bread. That is what Christ offered –a new life where love rules everything, in deed and in truth.

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