Micah 6:8

Look what I made!

I saw this idea on Pinterest (if you don’t know what this is you should check it out because it is a super cool way to spend way too much time looking at pictures of delicious food and fantastic craft ideas.  If you want an invite, let me know.).  The one I saw on Pinterest was one a mom made with her baby’s hands and feet prints and I thought it would be cool to do this with my own hands and feet.  

It may look pretty simple (and really it was), but it really took more skill and work than I was anticipating.  First I had to figure out what kind of paint to buy, then I had to choose the colors.  Making the hand and foot prints was much more difficult than I thought it would be…when was the last time you covered the bottom of your foot in paint, put it on a canvas, and then tried to wash your foot off in the sink without getting paint everywhere?  Well, it’s actually pretty difficult. 

There was something very therapeutic about getting my hands and feet all paint-y…the paint was cold and a little slimy and made me feel like I was back in preschool.  I think we all need to get out hands and feet messy more often.

Then there was painting the words…  My mom was gracious enough to give me a little refresher course in cursive writing.  I forgot how some of the letters were formed (3^rd grade was a long time ago!) and I went through a series of touch-ups on the letters trying to get them just right.

It’s not perfect, but it sure has some character.   

But in all seriousness, I love this.  I love that my hands and feet are on this.  Whenever I see it I will be reminded of this verse from Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. 
   

And what does the LORD require of you? 


To act justly and to love mercy 
   

and to walk humbly with your God.

More importantly, every time I see my painting I will be reminded that it is my hands that must act justly, it is my heart that must love mercy, and it is my feet that must walk humbly.  God has called me and each of us to follow God’s will, to act as God has called us to act, and to bring about a more just world.  God has pretty high standards, and I need to be reminded of these standards. Often.  Hopefully this painting will help remind me and convict me of the importance of doing all that God requires of me.  

My new favorite theologian.

This may surprise some of you, it even surprised me a little, but I have a new favorite theologian.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

I’ve known about Bonhoeffer for a few years and I even saw a play about him and read a collection of some of his letters.  I highly respected the man but didn’t know a whole lot about him, his life, and his theology beyond the basic details.  However, I just finished reading a most wonderful book about Bonhoeffer: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy by Eric Metaxas.  And now I want to read everything ever written by or about Bonhoeffer and he’s my new favorite theologian. 

This book is the perfect combination of biography, history, theology, spirituality, church drama, friendship, love story, and tragedy.  The book is a whopping 542 pages long (not including the notes and index), but it was 542 pages of fascinating and compelling information.  It’s not at all “dry” as many biographies can be.  Eric Metaxas did a great job writing this book, but with a person as interesting, inspiring, and incredible as Bonhoeffer, I think it would have been difficult to write a bad book about Bonhoeffer.

You really should read this book or at least look at the Wikipedia page about Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

But here are some brief words about Bonhoeffer that I know won’t adequately describe the man and his life, but here it goes:

Born in 1906 in Germany, Bonhoeffer knew from a young age that he wanted to study theology.  Bonhoeffer excelled in his studies and was a prolific writer throughout his life.  He became a Lutheran pastor as soon as he was old enough to do so.  He spent time in Spain and London as a pastor to German people living there.  He studied for a year at Union Theological Seminary in New York.  Spent time as a pastor in Germany, led and taught at a seminary that was illegal back in Germany, worked closely with ecumenical leaders from Europe and the US, worked as a spy, and became involved in a conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler.  Throughout the 1930s, Bonhoeffer actively spoke out against Hitler and the Third Reich.  Furthermore, he encouraged the church to do the same and to stand up for those who did not have a voice under Hitler’s rule- the Jews, the sick, the disabled.  Eventually the Gestapo arrested Bonhoeffer and he spent 18 months in a prison in Berlin and spent the final months of his life imprisoned at concentration camps before he was executed for his involvement with the plots to kill Hitler.         

When things got bad in Germany in the 1930s Bonhoeffer was given the opportunity to live and work in the US where he would be safe, but he decided to return to Germany to be with his people, to work with others to end the atrocities led by Hitler, and to suffer the same fate of many of the Jews that he was trying to save.

Throughout his life, Bonhoeffer was fully in tune with God’s will.  His own safety and well-being meant little to him.  Bonhoeffer’s faith and devotion to God was incredibly strong (although, Bonhoeffer would probably have said that it was God’s devotion and love to him that made Bonhoeffer so strong).  Even while in prison, Bonhoeffer continued his daily Bible reading, prayer, and hymn singing.  He was always a source of comfort and strength for those around him.

I have been searching for a Lutheran leader/theologian to look up to- a Lutheran hero, and Bonhoeffer is definitely what I have been looking for.  Most of the Christian leaders and theologians that I looked up to are Catholic, which certainly isn’t a bad thing, but it’s nice to have someone from my own religious tradition to look to for inspiration and an example of how to live out life as a Christian.  It’s good to have this example of how one Lutheran lived his life and gave his life for community, peace, and justice. 

I’m so excited to read more of Bonhoeffer’s writings.  I think the thing that most impresses me about Bonhoeffer is that he loved the academic side of theology, but I doubt that he ever wrote or said anything about God, religion, or spirituality that he wasn’t fully prepared live out.  For Bonhoeffer, theology and Christianity are things to be acted out not just talked about.  We could really use more people like Bonhoeffer who are willing to be authentic Christians by taking a stand against injustice in the world.  We can all learn so much from people like Bonhoeffer along with so many others who have and continue to stand up to say that justice must prevail.