Chapter 13-15
1. On page 147, Bonhoeffer writes, “The will of God, to which
the law gives expression, is that men should defeat their enemies by loving
them.” His behavior must be determined
not by the way others treat him, but by the treatment he himself receives from
Jesus; it has only one source, and that is the will of Jesus.”
- How does God’s will
and God’s love defeat our enemies?
2. “How then does love conquer?
By asking not how the enemy treats her, but only how Jesus treated
her. The love for our enemies takes us
along the way of the cross and into fellowship with the Crucified. The more we are driven along this road, the
more certain is the victory of love over the enemy’s hatred. For then it is not the disciple’s own love,
but the love of Jesus Christ alone, who for the sake of his enemies went to the
cross and prayed for them as he hung there.”
- How is it possible to love others as Jesus
loved us on the cross?
3. On page 159, “All that the follower of Jesus has to do is to
make sure that his obedience, following and love are entirely spontaneous and unpremeditated. Christ’s virtue, the virtue of discipleship,
can only be accomplished so long as you are entirely unconscious of what you
are doing. The genuine work of love is
always a hidden work.”
- Give examples of
such spontaneity and hidden love.
4. On page 163, “Only through Jesus Christ can we find the
Father in prayer. Christian prayer
presupposes faith, that is, adherence to Christ. He is the one and only Mediator of our
prayers. We pray at his command, and to
that word Christian prayer is always bound.”
- Why is Jesus the dominant focus of our praying?
5. “It matters little what form of prayer we adopt or how many
words we use. What matters is the faith
which lays hold on God and touches the heart of the Father who knew us long
before we came to him.”
- How does this
description of prayer compare with yours?
6. “Prayer does not aim at any direct effect on the world; it
is addressed to God alone, and is therefore the perfect example of
undemonstrative action.”
- Why is prayer
relation-centered? Why is it not about
outcomes?
7. “Not being content to wait for God to answer our prayer and
show us in his own time that he has heard us, we provide our own answer. We take note that we have prayed suitably
well, and this substitutes the satisfaction of answered prayer. We have our reward. Since we have heard ourselves, God will not
hear us. Having contrived our own reward
of publicity, we cannot expect God to reward us any further.”
- Can you think of a
time when this played out for you?
8. “True prayer does not depend either on the individual or
the whole body of the faithful, but solely upon the knowledge that our heavenly
Father knows our needs. That makes God
the sole object of our prayers, and frees us from a false confidence in our own
prayerful efforts.”
- How does complete
trust in God’s love transform our praying?
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