Aaron Menikoff, Bonhoeffer and Intentional Christian Living

Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew the importance of Christians investing in each other’s lives. When done right, it is never a shallow exchange. It is, instead, a powerful and loving ministry wherein two people relate, always trusting that they need to be encouraged and challenged by the Word of God. Bonhoeffer put it this way, in his classic little book, Life Together: 

God has put this Word into the mouth of men in order that it may be communicated to other men. When one person is struck by the Word, he speaks it to others. God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother, in the mouth of a man. Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own hear is uncertain, his brother’s is sure [pg. 23].

 Such a statement should lead a Christian, today, to ask, “Do I have such a relationship with another believer? Do I allow someone else to proclaim that 'divine word of salvation' to me?” To put it another way, do we have friends who exhort us so that we will not, as the author of Hebrews wrote, “be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin”? Living the Christian life without friends who speak into our lives this way is unbiblical—it is also lonely.

How can we become the kind of men and women who invest regularly and faithfully into the lives of others? One practical step would be to join a church—to lock arms with other believers who have committed themselves to the body of Christ in a particular place. Then, as a member of a church, we should consider becoming the type of person Bonhoeffer described: the Christian who speaks God’s Word to other Christians.  

Here are six characteristics of this type of Christian—a Christian anxious to make disciples for the glory of God. I pray that these characteristics will be born out in my own life more and more in the days and months ahead. 

§ Hopeful. Good disciple-makers do not simply know theology, they are full of hope! As Jim Peterson put it, “Hope is a rare commodity in our world, and if you have it, people want to know where you got it. People want to know what you’re doing right, or where you’re getting help.” [Lifestyle Discipleship, 37] Indeed, people are attracted to those who have hope because their lives have been transformed by the Gospel.

§ Honest. Be truthful about your life. Don’t offer a sanitized version of yourself for fear that the real you is not worth respecting. Life is too short to present yourself as someone you are not. If you are a Christian then you are sinner—a work in progress. I’m not saying that your sins won’t have consequences, they will. I am saying that honesty, with the appropriate discretion, is necessary if you intend to build into the lives of others.

§ Gospel-centered. In your discussions with others, consider how the gospel will affect their lives, their decisions, their thought process, their sin. This is what Bonhoeffer was getting at. This is what separates Christian living from an episode of Friends. We intend to spend time together, to share life together, to share problems together, but when we speak, our words are flavored with the gospel. What is Christ teaching us about how to follow Him? Where is Christ leading us?

§ Exemplary. Be an example. Remember what Paul said to the church in Thessalonica, “You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers” (1Thess. 2:10). Model the Christian life. You may feel that your life is too “full” to be deliberate and disciple, but your life is never too full to be an example.

§ Loving. We love God because He first loved us. Because of God’s great love, love others! Pray that God would give you a love for others that overflows. Because of that love, you will want to speak the Gospel into their lives, you will want to encourage them, you will want to challenge them. Let the love of God spill over into your relationships with others.

§ Creative. Find ways to fold people into your life because you love them and you want to spend time with them. Instead of eating alone, eat with members of the church. Instead of running errands alone, invite someone to run errands with you. Do what you have to do to make your life an open book—stretch yourself for the sake of the church and of the Gospel.

We have a tremendous opportunity to speak to the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  It requires, however, that we be deliberate and thoughtful.  May the Lord bless our efforts to encourage one another to obey Christ's commands as we seek to model his sacrificial love.