He has called us, not so that we love our own lives, not even the lives of our fellow human beings. In other words, we are called to live, not for people, but for the honor of God and his kingdom. We must not endeavor to raise ourselves to God’s kingdom by loving our life and taking good care of it. The way to the kingdom leads through death, through very real death. It demands that our lives be given up for the sake of God and his kingdom (Mark 8:35).
- Eberhard Arnold
May 09,2026
- Eberhard Arnold Meeting transcript, October 1934Jesus experienced the utmost humiliation, which led Him very much lower than He had been at His birth in the feed-trough, in the manger. When Jesus was hung on the cross and crucified, the high official, that proud representative of the whole Roman Empire, said, shortly before this overpowering humiliation, “Behold, a man!” Behold the man! Jesus, the man! He who reveals God as a man, this is the one whom we seek. He who reveals God as love, this is the human being with whom we want to have communion.
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To a responsible conscience, the only justification for fleeing the confused and hectic whirl of contemporary culture so as to withdraw into the inward self is if doing so will increase our fruitfulness. The goal must be to unite with eternal powers in order to gain a strength of character that is ready to be tested in the stream of the world and is equipped to meet the demands of our day. Our watchword is not “Retreat!” but rather “Gather for the attack!”
- Eberhard Arnold
All 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.
- Eberhard Arnold