Jon Walker. Abilene, Texas: Leafwood Publishers, 2012. 202 pp. (Paperback).
My pastor is a big fan of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and I am slowly becoming one, too, although I find Bonhoeffer’s writing difficult. For one thing, his writing tends to be ponderous, dated and hard to read. More importantly, Bonhoeffer is difficult because he is hard on himself and therefore hard on the reader.
When I read that Jon Walker’s new book was an attempt to interpret Bonhoeffer’s work for modern-day Christians on a personal level, I couldn’t wait to read it, expecting a kind of “Bonhoeffer for Dummies.”
The author applied Bonhoeffer’s teachings to his own life, which included job loss, financial disaster and a heart-rending divorce. Through the devastating events he endured, Walker doggedly followed Jesus’ example. Instead of being angry, he forgave — but it wasn’t an easy, Pollyanna-like forgiveness. It was the gritty, painful kind of forgiveness that screams its way out from the very soul of the forgiver.
This book was still a hard read for me, but not because of the writing style; Walker is engaging and witty, an exceptional writer. My difficulty came from Walker’s affirmation of the clear and unvarnished demands of a discipleship that leaves little wiggle room — just like Bonhoeffer’s.
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