J. Heinrich Arnold wrote a book entitled Discipleship; Living for Christ in the Daily Grind. It’s a compilation of his writings on various issues of the Christian life. It’s divided into three sections; The Disciple, The Church, and The Kingdom of God. He tackles marriage, sin, faith, dogmaticism, conversion, repentance, spiritual warfare, etc. It’s a fantastic read as a book, devotional, or reference tool. It’s a book of wisdom above all else. It has a high standing on my bookshelf (I organize by importance and impact to my life). In this book (which you can purchase here) he writes,
In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks of who are hungry, thirsty, naked, and in prison. We, too, are concerned about these people, about the hunger and want of the world. But what should we do? We live too well. We should eat less and do with less, so as to share with the poor. The early Christians fasted for one or two days a week so as to give food to the hungry. We are not doing enough just by sharing among our own brothers and sisters. We should appoint at least one brother from each of our communities to seek out people in need, to bring them food and clothing, and to see that they have adequate heating, and so on. [emphasis mine]
Arnold says a lot here. He was a member of a community called the Bruderhof and if one knows about the Bruderhof they will better understand the implications found in this quote. Things we can pull from this quote (with the implications in place): According to Arnold, Christians 1) care for the needy, 2) embrace simplistic living, 3) live their lives together in close-knit community, 4) share with each other, 5) share with the poor, 6) fast for the sake of giving to the poor what they would otherwise keep for themselves, 7) seek out the needy around them.
I’m blessed to recently have been asked to be the member of a community that seeks out opportunities for helping the needy. I’m a part of several communities in the local Vancouver (WA not B.C.) area and each bless the others. It’s a great honor in my eyes to be appointed this position. I say this not out of gloating but appreciation. Arnold’s words have perked me up and reminded me how important this task is for it is necessary for us to embrace our identity with action. If I slack I hurt my community and fail to give the blessings I ought to my brothers and sisters. If I keep from them the needy I keep from them opportunities to live in the love of Christ Jesus. However, if I am faithful in this then we all benefit and the light of Christ is not hidden. If we are faithful we are a city on a hill, salt and light of the world.
A book that I have referenced before is Freedom of Simplicity by Richard J. Foster. Foster expounds on the idea of doing with less and provides practical application for the person and communities who seek to live a more simplistic and selfless life in Jesus. I highly recommend both these books.
