A bit from "The cost of discipleship"

As some of you might know, I have started working since last week. One thing that I am able to do better during my work than during my uni time is reading books. Thanks to the waiting time in MRT, bus and shuttle bus, at least I had almost 2 hours worth of reading books everyday (every working day to be precise =p).

The book that I'm reading right now is Dietrich Bonhoeffer's classic, "The Cost of Discipleship". I was blessed by this book a lot within this week, as I read the writings of someone who did not just write about how to life our life in Christ fully, but living what he wrote in full integrity. I will not discuss about him or the book now.. But you can wiki him for now =p. Anyway.. this is what I read a while back, and I don't see a reason to not share it with you =)

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..The call to discipleship, the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, sets the Christian in the middle of the aily arena again sin and the devil. Every day he encounters new temptations, and every day he must suffer anew for Jesus Christ's sake. The wounds and scars he receives in the fray are living tokens of this participations in the cross of his Lord. But there is another kind of suffering and shame which the Christian is not spared. While it is true that only the sufferings of Christ are a means for atonement, yet since he had suffered for and borne the sins of the whole world and shares with his disciples the fruit of his passion, the Christian has to undergo temptations, he too has to bear the sins of others; he too must bear their shame and be driven like a scapegoat from the gate of the city. But he would certainly break down under this burden, but for the support of him who bore the sins of all. The Passion of Christ strengthens him to overcome the sins of other by forgiving them. He becomes the bearer of other men's burdens - "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2). As Christ bears our burdens, so ought we to bear the burdens of our fellow men. The law of Christ, which it is our duty to fulfil, is the bearing of the cross. My brother's burden which I must bear is not only his outward lot, his natural characteristics and gifts, but quite literally his sin. And the only way to bear that sin is by forgiving it in the power of the cross of Christ in which I now share. Thus the call to follow Christ always mean a call to share the work of forgiving men their sins. Forgiveness is the Christlike suffering which it is the Christian's duty to bear.

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quite a long paragraph.. but meaningful. Bonhoeffer's writings in this book are tough to read, but his "simple obedience" to the Word of Christ is admireable. I learn a lot from this book, and I learn that we need to bear each other burden's in a whole new perspective. =)

Let there be light!