Service and submission

******Note - this was originally written in response to a lesson at my home church last week regarding 1 Corinthians 8. We discussed how mature or "strong" Christians should respond when a "weaker" Christian expresses a concern that a particular activity, while not sinful in itself, may prove to be a stumbling block for them. The discussion was strong and lively. During the week, I was reading Bonhoeffer, and the subject of his writing dovetailed with our discussion. As such, I wrote the below to review the questions and discussion from a different viewpoint.*******

The beatitudes are Christ’s verbal representation of the characteristics of those who, through their submission to the will and glory of God, live their lives in such a way as to reflect that submission and glory to the rest of a fallen world. We, as Christ’s children, with His indwelling in our heart, should strive to live each of these daily in our inward and outward lives. But in reading and prayer, I am struck in the way in which some of them are applicable with regard to the lesson we discussed this past Sunday. (In truth, they are all applicable, but if I wrote about them all, this would be about 5-7 pages long, and nobody would read it. As such, I chose the three that were shown to me to be most clearly apropos for this topic)

- “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5.

To be clear here – meekness in this context is not a reference to timidity, weakness, or being a pushover. This meekness is recognition that we maintain no rights of our own when held up against the presence, power and glory of God. When we come to love and recognize His presence and hand in all things, only then can we truly submit to the path which He has set out before us. No matter what trials are to come, or what difficulties lay ahead, we understand that He is in control and has laid this plan for our ultimate benefit.

Accordingly, His disciples “… are meek, they renounce every right of their own and live for the sake of Jesus Christ. When reproached, they hold their peace; when treated with violence they endure it patiently; when men drive them from their presence, they yield their ground… They are determined to leave their rights to God alone.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, p109

Bonhoeffer’s description shows our response when faced with the trials, scorn, rejection, and ridicule of the world, but it is also ultimately applicable within the Church walls as well. When we determine to leave our rights to God alone, then and only then can we be willing in love and mercy to submit ourselves to the “weakness” of our fellow brothers and sisters who are in bondage to their weak consciences. If we do not possess the meekness to submit our selves and our “rights”, we will be unable to be lowered into a position necessary for lifting this weak brother or sister from their bondage.

- “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7.

“In order that they may be merciful they cast away the most priceless treasure of human life, their own personal dignity and honour. For the only honour and dignity they know is their Lord’s own mercy, to which alone they owe their very lives.” Bonhoeffer, p111

If we want to get into the realm of difficult teaching, this one is way up there. From the lofty position of your own self-affected dignity, it can be exceedingly difficult to muster the true mercy to bring yourself to the level of the afflicted. From that view, it is more rightly termed pity, which is not the same thing at all as mercy. In order to present true mercy, it is necessary to sacrifice your own position, pride, and comfort. You must come to the afflicted before you can bring them out of their affliction. Only when you are willing to kneel at their level can you understand, and when you understand, then you can share the mercy that builds and replenishes their strength, and lifts them out of their ditch.

This is the truth of Christ’s sacrifice for us. He came down from the throne of glory, into the world. He shed his crown and stepped into the muck, the misery of humanity. From this position at our sides, he was able to live out the true mercy which paved our path upward to the feet of his Father. What’s more, this shedding of his dignity and honor was for a specific time and a purpose. So too will the displacement of our dignity for the sake of Christ and his children be temporary, with the intended purpose of serving his glory during our ministry on earth. Therefore, have no misgivings about giving up the dignities that you are so tied to in the here and now, as they will be reborn with infinitely more glory in the age to come.

- “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9.

“His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it upon others… In so doing they overcome evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate.” Bonhoeffer, p113.

This is the most simply and directly applicable beatitude in reference to this past Sunday’s lesson. When faced with a situation where a weak brother or sister’s conscience is defiled by a stumbling block in their faith, it is our call as a disciple of Christ to willingly sacrifice our own freedom, which threatens to ensnare our fellow believer, and so embrace our role as peacemaker. We should seek not only to maintain and enhance the peace amongst our body of believers, but also within the conscience of the troubled believer for whom we make this sacrifice.

This peace, when established within the heart of the struggling believer, can prove to be the very foundation by which we can begin the process of building their understanding of the freedom which is granted to us by God. It can be the starting point by which the stumbling block can be eroded away and removed as an obstacle.

Using only these three beatitudes, it becomes clear how deeply and fundamentally they are intertwined in how we engage with all of our relationships within and beyond this world. Our meekness in recognizing our low stature opens the way for us to willingly take a position in which we can share true mercy. From this position of mercy, we are ideally situated to act as peacemaker – as we willingly sacrifice our own freedoms and stature for the sake of others, that the peace of God’s presence may form the foundation from which we can be built up and, in so doing, to glorify God by our love.

And ultimately, that’s what it’s all about.