Radical Integrity

In solitary confinement he found true freedom. Gestapo agents knocked heavily on the outside door. In an upstairs bedroom, a man wiped sweat from his face and dropped a match into the wastebasket. Only after seeing the contents burn did he calmly give each member of his family a brief hug and leave with the men in dark coats. It was April 1943 in Nazi Germany. The last time Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw his family as a free man. Pastor, professor, one of the twentieth-century's most brilliant minds Dietrich Bonhoeffer was soon to be a martyr. After struggling with the moral issues involved, he had joined the resistance to his country's dictator, Adolf Hitler. In his solitary confinement, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was never truly alone because his Lord was with him. Anchoring his daily life in the simple disciplines of Bible study and prayer, Bonhoeffer pondered and wrote on deep spiritual issues. In April 1945, just weeks before World War II ended in Europe, the Nazis hanged Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He had written of the cost of discipleshipand paid that cost with his life. But for those who follow his example, his investment continues to pay dividends today.