He had theologically redefined the Christian life as something active, not reactive. It had nothing to do with avoiding sin or with merely talking or teaching or believing theological notions or principles or rules or tenets. It had everything to do with living one's life in obedience to God's call through action. It did not merely require a mind, but a body too. It was God's call to be fully human, to live as human beings obedient to the one who made us, which was the fulfillment of our destiny. It was not a cramped, compromised, circumspect life, but a life lived in a kind of wild, joyful, full-throated freedom--that was what it was to obey God.
-Eric Metaxes on Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I am still learning what it means to live in that "wild, joyful, full-throated freedom." Bonhoeffer himself speaks of the daily joy as that feeling that you get when you are headed home. The build up of excitement when you know that you are almost there. I'm still learning that the presence of joy does not mean a lack of sorrow. But something similar to this: "I think my happiness is so deeply, firmly rooted that sorrow simply can't reach that far, however immense it may sometimes seem."[Maria von Wedemeyer]
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