In the
beginning of chapter 1, Bonhoffer states,
“It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God’s Word and sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing" (180).
I really appreciated that he stated
this, because it is a very true statement. Between high school and college, I had
the privilege of participating in a gap year program called STEP through the
Brethren in Christ church denomination. This program was very similar to YWAM,
but much smaller. I was able to serve as an intern and ESL teacher in Thailand
for six months. During this time, I learned a lot about what it looks like to
practice my beliefs outwardly and not be afraid of what others might think of
me while doing this. While Thailand does not necessarily discriminate against
Christian’s, about 98% of people living in this country are Buddhist. Those who
were Christians that I spent time with were first generation Christians and
grew up with a Buddhist background. This means that they receive a lot of
persecution from their friends and families because they are not practicing Buddhism.
The area that I served in is called the Isaan region of Thailand, and many
people also practice animism, which is heavily focused on “good” and “bad”
spirits, very similar to witchcraft. The way that the Thai Christians worshiped
was unlike anything I had ever witnessed before. they were so excited to have
the privilege of knowing who God was and what it looked like to serve him, that
they had no fear of speaking about their experience with God to anyone. They
did not care if their families disowned them, because they knew they were safe
in God’s hands, and He would guide them. Fast forward six months to when I came
back to the States and participated in an American church service after
spending so long amongst Christians who were truly thankful for the freedom to
worship God and praise Him for all the ways he had blessed them in their lives.
I have to be honest, the American church service was the biggest reverse-
culture shock that I experienced in my return home. People did not seem to care
that we had the privilege to worship God freely without our friends and
families persecuting us for this action. As I looked around the church, I noticed
that people were on their phones texting, moving their lips to the songs but
not understanding what they were saying, and barely in a state of worship at
all. I can honestly say that the house church of six people that I attended
while in Thailand was louder and more excited to worship Jesus than the 300
people combined that attended my parents church upon my return home. all this
being said, When Bonhoffer say’s we are lucky to be able to freely worship the
Lord with everything in our being, he’s right. So often we take our freedom to
worship for granted. There are so many Christians being persecuted, or even
killed for their obedience in worshiping our savior. Why is it that American’s
often lose sight of this truth and take our freedom for granted? I wish I knew
the answer.
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