Our expectation of the kingdom cannot be a passive waiting, a sweet, soft occupation with ourselves and our like-minded friends. No, if we truly expect God’s kingdom, we will be filled with divine power. Then the social justice of the future – with its purity of heart and divine fellowship – will be realized now, wherever Jesus himself is present. Our belief in the future must bring change to the present!

Faith is a light of God that surpasses all human reason. The light of faith is nothing other than God drawing near and intervening. He who is in the sun has no lack of light.

- Eberhard Arnold

He has called us, not so that we love our own lives, not even the lives of our fellow human beings. In other words, we are called to live, not for people, but for the honor of God and his kingdom. We must not endeavor to raise ourselves to God’s kingdom by loving our life and taking good care of it. The way to the kingdom leads through death, through very real death. It demands that our lives be given up for the sake of God and his kingdom (Mark 8:35).

- Eberhard Arnold

To a responsible conscience, the only justification for fleeing the confused and hectic whirl of contemporary culture so as to withdraw into the inward self is if doing so will increase our fruitfulness. The goal must be to unite with eternal powers in order to gain a strength of character that is ready to be tested in the stream of the world and is equipped to meet the demands of our day. Our watchword is not “Retreat!” but rather “Gather for the attack!”

- Eberhard Arnold