There’s a line that’s been attributed to Martin Luther that goes something like this: “Even if I knew the world was going to end tomorrow, I would still plant a tree today.” The origins of this quotation do not go back to the 16th century Augustinian-monk-turned-Reformer. The attribution actually originated in Germany during World War II. But the popularity of the linkage to Luther is in part due to its resonance with his thought. Luther didn’t say it, but he might as well have.
In fact, as one historian observes regarding the apocryphal saying, “Scholars believe it originated in the German Confessing Church, which used it to inspire hope and perseverance during its opposition to the Nazi dictatorship.” Indeed, the German Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis 80 years ago today, on April 9, 1945, echoed a similar sentiment in his theological reckoning with the meaning of discipleship in the world, death, and new life.
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