Somehow I acquired a little square of paper containing this quote that was said by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I have kept in my Bible and each time I read it, it challenges and inspires me in the way that I respond to others and in the way that I am to view myself in light of God’s righteousness and my sinfulness. It always leaves me humbled.
Bonhoeffer referred to its principle as the Ministry of Meekness:
He who would learn to serve must first learn to think little of himself. Only he who lives by the forgiveness of his sin in Jesus Christ will rightly think little of himself. He will know that his own wisdom reached the end of its tether when Jesus forgave him. He will know that it is good for his own will to be broken in the encounter with his neighbor. But not only my neighbor’s will, but also his honor is more important than mine. The desire for one’s own honor hinders faith. One who seeks his own honor is no longer seeking God and his neighbor. What does it matter if I suffer injustice? Would I not have deserved even worse punishment from God, if He had not dealt with me according to His mercy?
