Drawing Inspiration from Biographies

Recently I have really been interested in reading biographies. Last month I read The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher by Debby Applegate. For Christmas my sister, Cameron, got me Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. Both of these books are fascinating because they describe in detail people who followed Jesus with reckless abandon during their short lifetimes. Beecher contributed greatly to the abolition of slavery in America, and Bonhoeffer sacrificed his life for the sake of standing up to the tremendous evil of the Nazis during WWII. I have enjoyed reading about these two great men because their lives stand in contrast to the messages of comfort and safety that permeate modern Christianity in America. For some reason many Christians in America have bought into the idea that our lives should be built around comfort, safety, and being nice. That type of thinking drastically reduces the radical message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead, Christians should be embracing a risky, dangerous life on the edge that is sold out to doing whatever it takes to advance the Kingdom of God in a world that is set against us and an ememy who wants only to destroy us. We are all born into a world at war, even if it is a war that we cannot always see. Embracing the modern comforts of this world and obsessing over safety for ourselves and our families only leads to us being taken out by the enemy and leading marginalized lives. We only get one shot at this short life. People like Beecher and Bonhoeffer are great examples of how we can live dangerously in the callings that God gives each of us for his mission in this world.