It is the deathly loneliness of the Crucified that frees us from our own importance. It is the step into death by faith that leads us through the grave to the certainty of life. Christ has accepted me so utterly that He becomes united with me and says, “I am this poor sinner; that is, all his sin and death is my sin and my death.” In this unity unto death we are freed from all sin, in spite of the most frightening awareness of sin. We gain life in the Risen One.
- Eberhard Arnold
January 09,2025
- Eberhard Arnold Why We Live in CommunityAll life – including the variety we see in nature – is a parable of the future community of the kingdom of God. Just as the air surrounds us, or as a blowing wind engulfs us, we need to be immersed in the blowing Spirit, who unites and renews everything. And just as water washes and cleanses us every day, so in the symbol of baptism we witness to our purification from everything that is of death.
Get Daily Inspiration straight to your Inbox
More Inspiration
Through the experience of God, man is drawn into the end of creation. The fiery baptism of God’s judgment wants to revive the phoenix from the ashes. The dying of the old world heralds the beginning of the new. When the human heart is touched by God, it is close to death because life is coming to it. The death of Christ brings the resurrection.
- Eberhard Arnold
The childlike man does not experience God’s power and greatness without nature. He cannot disregard creation when he stands before the Creator. In the mysterious relationship of the created worlds, the believing creature senses the might of the Creator which gives greatness, life, coherence and unity to all things created.
- Eberhard Arnold