A Note to My Sons...

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Mextaxas is a powerful book.

I've made notes in the flyleaf of the passages that have impacted me. One of those notes has the words, "for my funeral" beside it, guiding my family to the page and paragraph that makes my soul say "yes! yes!" Metaxas skillfully weaves a moving story of a beautiful life in a deeply ugly time.

I thought of my sons as I read this book. I wondered how God may use them as they begin to face the adult issues of their generation. After I read one paragraph in particular, I found myself praying for my boys, "Don't be that guy."

The paragraph I'm referring to is on page 348. To set the stage, Hitler has invaded Poland and now, the rest of Europe must decide how to respond. Up to this time, Neville Chamberlain, England's Prime Minister, had been known for his appeasement of the increasingly aggressive Hitler. Metaxas describes it like this.

It now only remained for Britain to declare war. But Hitler and von Ribbentrop doubted the British would do so. As with Austria and Czechoslovakia, they would probably prefer a "diplomatic" solution. Indeed, for two days the British engaged in diplomatic back and forth, but at some point someone lent Chamberlain a vertebra, for against Hitler's calculations, on Sunday, Great Britain declared war.


After I read this, I prayed that my boys would not be like Neville Chamberlain. That nobody would have to lend them a vertebra.

I have no idea what my sons are going to face tomorrow, let alone their adult future. But I know what I am praying for them today. I'm praying that they have the courage to do what's right even if they are up against a Hitler.

Luke and David