It is not the development of good men or of good settlements, not their evolution or unfolding that spreads the kingdom of God. In that case it would no longer be God’s kingdom, but the kingdom of men. Yet it is true that God is waiting for a faith that will accept him in such a way that he himself in his love can work through us and in the strength of his future can bring about justice and community among us.
- Eberhard Arnold
July 20,2025
- Eberhard Arnold From a letter, March 1925It is depressing to see how blunt everything still is, how little we come to a holy revolution, how little we fight the battle until death, how little we dare to break with all existing values toward that which is to come! I do wish that you may dare the utmost. The utmost begins with the free decision to fight against oneself, to give up oneself, to place one’s very small self into the very great for which alone it is worth living. May Christ be your deliverer and leader in this!
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The church here in our community is not the future kingdom of God. But because God, the Creator, is in our midst, it is the framework of the future kingdom. This framework consists of the building up, the relationship to one another, the possibility of our living for each other. God is this possibility. Without God, the whole world is lost. It is not enough for people to try to have relationship with one another. A relationship is only possible where God gives it.
- Eberhard Arnold
Jesus repeatedly challenges us to work while it is still day. He compares his kingdom to labor in a vineyard, to the working investment of moneys entrusted to one, to the good use of all one’s talents. If God’s kingdom is to transform the “vale of tears” into a realm of joy, then it must be a kingdom of work. Work alone befits the destiny of man’s spirit.
- Eberhard Arnold