Summer greetings! This July we have been reading and discussing (virtually!) Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic book on Christian community, Life Together. The Lord, through Bonhoeffer, has refreshed, humbled, and refocused us. Here is a taste of what we’ve been considering:
“It is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians” (17).Please pray for us, that we will not just hear these exhortations (and many others) and remain unchanged; rather, may we rightly love and support one another the rest of this summer and next academic year—for the sake of Jesus Christ—as we follow Him!
“The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer” (19).
“We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ” (21).
“Human love is directed to the other person for his own sake, spiritual love loves him for Christ’s sake” (34).
“Into the community you were called, the call was not meant for you alone; in the community of the called you bear your cross, you struggle, you pray. You are not alone, even in death, and on the Last Day you will be only one member of the great congregation of Jesus Christ. If you scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Jesus Christ, and thus your solitude can only be hurtful to you” (77).
“Only in the fellowship do we learn to be rightly alone and only in aloneness do we learn to live rightly in the fellowship. It is not as though the one preceded the other; both begin at the same time, namely, with the call of Jesus Christ” (77-78).
Please also pray for our outreach to incoming freshmen this summer and fall. The transition to college can create in these students a once-in-a-lifetime openness to exploring a faith community. May God give us love, perseverance, and success in welcoming these freshmen to Stanford’s campus. And may he grant saving faith to many dozens of new students at Stanford!
Lastly, Christian Union faculty and staff will be gathering in Massachusetts for the first week of August to pray and seek the Lord together. Please pray that the Lord will bless our time with more of himself and by showing us favor in our labor in the gospel this coming fall!
So grateful to God for your partnership!
Justin Woyak
Senior Ministry Fellow
Christian Union Caritas
Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work, please email prayer@christianunion.org.
