The apostles went out of the High Council overjoyed because they had been given the honor of being dishonored on account of the Name. Acts 5:41 (TM)

Wendy and I spent a recent weekend at the Lake with my daughter, Taylor, and her boyfriend, Clayton. Clayton was reading The Cost of Discipleship by German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It’s a meaty theological treatise; one from which I have quoted, on occasion. As the four of us walked down the gravel lane to enjoy a Saturday evening meal at a local restaurant, we briefly discussed the book.

In Bonhoeffer’s most famous quote, he states "when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

When he wrote those words, Bonhoeffer was unaware the extent to which he would be called to live them out. Smuggled out of Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer chose to secretly return to his country and fight for the Truth in the midst of the lies with which the Nazis had led the entire nation astray. He was eventually arrested and sent to a Nazi concentration camp. There he was "given the honor of being dishonored on account of the Name." The Nazis sent him to the gallows.

It struck me, as we discussed Bonhoeffer and his book, that I really have no clue what it means to be "given the honor or being dishonored" for my faith in Jesus. While I’m extremely glad for that, I also wonder if there is a depth of faith, joy and knowledge which Peter, John and Dietrich experienced that I may never know.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and Julie Cinci