Book Review: Life Together

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a collection of thoughts that has been titled Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community. It is interesting because the writings come out of his time imprisoned by the Nazi's. Much of his imprisonment was spent in solitary confinement. Seems like an interesting place to consider how we as Christians should live in community together. For the review this time I would like to pull excerpts from the book that stood out to me. A tougher read because of the writing style, but very good stuff.

• When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.
• "The curse of a godless man can sound more pleasant in God's ears than the Hallelujah of the pious." --Martin Luther
• "Sin boldly but believe and rejoice in Christ more boldly still." --Martin Luther
• So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes.
• A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men.
• Human love is directed to the other person for his own sake, spiritual love loves him for Christ's sake.
• Without the burden and labor of the day, prayer is not prayer, and without prayer work is not work.
• A day at a time is long enough to sustain one's faith; the next day will have its own cares.
• The ancients had a persistent sense of man's helplessness while sleeping, of the kinship of sleep with death, of the devil's cunning in making a man fall when he is defenseless...Most remarkable and profound is the ancient church's prayer that when our eyes are closed in sleep God may nevertheless keep our hearts awake.
• Let him who cannot be alone beware of community. Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.
• Seek God, not happiness -- this is the fundamental rule of all meditation.
• He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone.
• Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is we are sinners!
• The mask you wear before men will do you no good before Him.