43 pages • 1-hour read
Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community
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Themes
The Nature and Importance of Christian Fellowship and Unity
Life Together is principally about Christian fellowship and unity. Over the course of five chapters, author Dietrich Bonhoeffer maps out the purpose and best practices of Christian community. He explains in depth the need for both individual and communal spiritual growth, showing the two to be intertwined and discussing ways of cultivating both. Above all, Bonhoeffer stresses that communal life is a fundamental aspect of faith. While it is not promised to all Christians, it is something that Christians should seek, and for those who have found it, it is something for which to be thankful.
Bonhoeffer is clear regarding the function of Christian community. He writes, “And that also clarifies the goal of Christian community: they meet one another as bringers of the message of salvation” (23). Ultimately, a communal life among other Christians is meant to bring glory to God, in large part by strengthening individuals in their faith. This manifests in various ways: through the principles that Christians heed and the way they treat each other, through the acts of confession and forgiveness that remind the Christian of God’s own forgiveness, and through the transformation each person finds in the eyes of the other. Regarding the latter, Bonhoeffer stresses that community is a way for Christians to view one another the way God views them—i.e., as equal in their flaws but also equal in their capacity for redemption.
In Bonhoeffer’s framing, the fact that community is not a given does not detract from his claims concerning its central purpose; rather, it underscores it. Citing the Bible to support his argument, Bonhoeffer comments, “‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity’ […] But now we can rightly interpret the words ‘in unity’ and say ‘for brethren to dwell together through Christ’’ (39). In repeatedly reminding readers that Christians are not promised community, Bonhoeffer emphasizes it as a manifestation of God’s goodness: Christians enjoy community, when they do, only through Jesus Christ.
A final reason that Christian community is essential emerges in Bonhoeffer’s discussion of confession: Only the Christian will fully understand the depths of the shame of sin and the heights of forgiveness found in Christ. Bonhoeffer observes, “The Christian brother knows when I come to him: here is a sinner like myself, a godless man who wants to confess and yearns for God’s forgiveness” (119). While certain benefits of community (e.g., the life of service it encourages) can presumably be practiced among people of any faith and still allow the Christian to grow spiritually, community with fellow Christians allows those with shared spiritual experiences and faith to uplift one another and encourage each other in their individual journeys of faith.
The Relationship Between Humility, Confession, and Forgiveness
Bonhoeffer’s repeated emphasis on positioning the heart correctly when acting in the name of God is above all a reminder that the Christian must strive for humility in all aspects of their faith (and life), from practicing silence and stillness, to listening and speaking, to confessing and bearing another’s burdens. Humility in this context entails not merely humbleness but rather the willingness to subordinate one’s own desires, goals, interests, etc., to those of others and ultimately to those of God. From this humility, Bonhoeffer argues, springs the ability to love and the ability to confess one’s sins, opening one to God’s forgiveness.
Humility is emphasized throughout Life Together, but it is perhaps most present in the fourth chapter, as ministry (roughly synonymous with service) requires putting others before oneself. For the ministry of listening, the individual must put their own ideas and thoughts aside and instead be fully present for their fellow Christian. Likewise, of the ministry of helpfulness, Bonhoeffer says, “[I]t is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God” (99). Christians are called to help one another and put others’ needs before their own. This demands humility—a willingness to relinquish one’s own ideas about (for example) how to spend one’s time.
Bonhoeffer goes on to show that humility is essential for confession and thus for forgiveness. Indeed, humility is necessary not only for the person confessing (who might, in pride, be tempted to remain silent to avoid judgment) but also for the person hearing the confession, as Bonhoeffer explains when describing to whom a Christian should confess: “Only the person who has so humbled himself can hear a brother’s confession without harm” (120). Likewise, he explains that the Christian who hears the confession is to refrain from expressing judgment, for they too are sinners before God. Such acts of confession in turn enable Christians to enjoy God’s forgiveness.
Bonhoeffer also distinguishes humility from the mere shame that awareness of one’s sinful nature might prompt. Where shame might lead one to despair, humility, understood correctly, leads one back to an understanding of God’s grace. As Bonhoeffer says in Chapter 5, “[N]ow come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; he wants you alone” (111). These words are intended to comfort the Christian, as God’s love does not require that they be anything other than flawed.
The Role of Worship and Scripture in Daily Life
Bonhoeffer was a strong believer in the daily practice of hymnal worship and the reading of Scriptures. In fact, these were two of the pillars upon which the underground seminary at Finkenwalde was founded. He understood that such disciplines would not come easily or naturally to every (or, possibly, to any) Christian, but he felt that the growth they afforded would pay off in the end—an idea present throughout Life Together.
To integrate Christian faith into everyday life, Bonhoeffer believed that the day should begin and end with worship. For instance, he writes that “[t]he deep stillness of morning is broken first by the prayer and song of the fellowship” (42). He cites biblical passages describing the morning as belonging to God and argues that God should be the first thing that Christians attend to when they awaken. However, while certain, less busy parts of the day might lend themselves more naturally to prayer or meditation, Bonhoeffer stresses that a true Christian must strive to live their faith at every moment of the day, even when dealing with seemingly unrelated matters. Work, for example, becomes an opportunity to put one’s faith into practice.
Such faith must also be grounded in regular reading of the Scriptures, Bonhoeffer argues, noting that “[i]t is not our heart that determines our course, but God’s Word” (55). Bonhoeffer therefore explains not only the numerous reasons why reading Scripture is important but also how it should be read. For instance, he discusses the importance of understanding verses and passages from the Bible in the context of the whole book and argues that reading it consecutively is beneficial for the Christian. He also discusses how Scripture readings as a group differ from meditation on the Scriptures in solitude. The group should, if they are spiritually mature and healthy, have the capacity to read multiple passages, preferably from the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. By contrast, meditation on the Scriptures is to be done in solitude, with the Christian dwelling on a shorter phrase, sentence, or word from the Bible. The combination of these practices, Bonhoeffer argues, will give Christians a much more in-depth and well-rounded understanding of the Bible, while the daily implementation of both these practices and worship will ultimately grow the faith of the individuals who make up the community of believers, strengthening the community itself.
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