Persecution's Reward

“May God lead us kindly through these times, but above all, may God lead us to Himself… Everything we may with some good reason expect or beg of God is to be found in Jesus Christ… We must immerse ourselves again and again, for a long time and quite calmly, in Jesus’s life, His sayings, actions, suffering, and dying in order to recognize what God promises and fulfills. What is certain is that we may always live aware that God is near and present with us and that this life is an utterly new life for us; that there is nothing that is impossible for us anymore because there is nothing that is impossible for God; that no earthly power can touch us without God’s will, and that danger and urgent need can only drive us closer to God. What is certain is that we have no claim on anything but may ask for everything; what is certain is that in suffering lies hidden the source of our joy, in dying the source of our life; what is certain is that in all this we stand within a community that carries us. To all this, God has said Yes and Amen in Jesus. This Yes and Amen is the solid ground upon which we stand. You must never doubt that I am thankfully and cheerfully going along the path on which I am being led. My past life is filled to the brim with God’s goodness, and the forgiving love of the Crucified One covers my guilt."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer