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by Jim Rickards, Daily Reckoning: It’s hard to believe, but the presidential election is just one week away. It’ll all come down to the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada. It’s a tight race, although it appears to be breaking for Trump. The Democratic strategy is essentially to […]

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If you were a woman in the 1500s in Germany, your entire life was decided by your guardian. Like children, women had legal guardians who made decisions for them. If a father, brother, or husband wasn’t available, the local authorities would appoint a guardian, much like we do today with orphans. Women couldn’t get married, have a job, own property, or even have legal rights to their children without permission from their guardians. This is the backdrop of Katharina von Bora’s life, and it’s what makes her rejection of a suitor when she didn’t have a penny to her name so fascinating. Her life shows us that Christian faithfulness isn’t about being married or single but about holding fast to the grace and freedom we’ve been given in Christ. Life in the Convent Katharina “Katie” von Bora was born to a lower-level noble family. When she was 5, she was sent to a convent school for girls. It was a fine place to live, and she was treated well. But when she was 10, her father lost all his money, and it was decided she’d become a nun. Most convents required a dowry from the family—a “donation” to take care of the woman for the rest of her life. Since her father had no money, he sent her to a charitable convent that had no minimum dowry. Christian faithfulness isn’t about being married or single but about holding fast to the grace and freedom we’ve been given in Christ. When she turned 16, she was old enough to take her vows. What other choice did she have? She couldn’t get married; she couldn’t get a job. This was her life decided for her by her father; there was no other legal option. Moreover, running away from a convent in the Holy Roman Empire was punishable by death. The convent was silent. Talking and friendships were forbidden. Contact with the outside world, even family, was forbidden. Voices were to be used only for prayer or worship. This was the era when making yourself weak was a sign of spiritual strength. So the women in the convent lived on about 1,000 calories a day, with no meat besides the occasional fish. They were allowed to sleep here and there. It was a situation ripe for additional abuses. Escape to True Freedom In 1520, the reformer Martin Luther wrote, “A Christian is the perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, subject to everyone.” This paradox was the crux of his vision of Christian freedom. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, because your salvation is by grace alone. You must be a dutiful servant to your neighbor, because you wear the identity of Christ. In 1521, Luther was working out the implications of his doctrine of Christian freedom. He taught that if the Christian identity is received freely, it’s not tolerable to spiritually manipulate Christians to get what you want out of them. In his treatise “On Monastic Vows,” Luther proclaimed that anyone in a monastic order forced to take vows against his or her will was free in Christ to leave the order. Soon, monks left their monasteries and returned to their families, or sought jobs and started families of their own. It was years before any nuns attempted the same feat. Even if they could safely escape to a region loyal to the Protestant cause, they still needed guardians. Katie’s story is the famous one: she was one of a dozen escaped nuns who showed up at Luther’s doorstep penniless, without guardians, and with only the clothes on their backs. He wrote all their families, but most wouldn’t (or couldn’t) take the women back. Luther had a situation on his hands. So this awkward university professor, this champion of grace alone, started matchmaking. Leftover Nun with Lofty Expectations Luther matched Katie up with a man named Jerome Baumgartner. They quickly fell in love and started making plans for marriage. But after going home to his parents to get their permission, Baumgartner ghosted Katie for about a year. Luther wrote him on behalf of Katie multiple times, and eventually it was found out that Baumgartner’s parents had married him off to a wealthy 14-year-old from a powerful family. They called Katie a “spinster” and wouldn’t approve of the penniless, 24-year-old runaway. Meanwhile, all the other nuns who’d escaped found suitable husbands and got married. So when Katie’s engagement fell through, Luther went about finding another match for this “leftover nun.” Katie didn’t make it easy on him. By that time, she was known for her strong opinions and strong will. Finally able to talk, she spoke her mind. The home where she stayed was that of the wealthy Cranach family, who treated her as a daughter. There, she rubbed shoulders with houseguests like King Christian of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, who was in Wittenberg studying the Reformation doctrines. The only man Luther could find to court Katie was a reverend, Kaspar Glatz. He was stingy with his money and his compliments. He was a grouchy man, and after meeting him, Katie immediately rejected him. While talking with Luther’s friend and colleague Nikolaus von Amsdorf, who was trying to explain to her that beggars can’t be choosers, Katie said she was content to stay single. After all, she’d left the prison of the convent; she wasn’t about the enter the prison of being married to a man she couldn’t respect. When Amsdorf asked who on earth could meet her high expectations, Katie said she’d be willing to marry either him or Luther. Loving Your Neighbor and Spiting the Devil Katie knew Christian freedom means we’re free to serve and love our neighbors; it doesn’t mean we must fear man and do whatever our neighbors want. Katie staked her life on that paradox. Christian freedom means we’re free to serve and love our neighbors. Amsdorf went to Luther and said Katie was only willing to marry Luther himself—conveniently leaving his own name off her list in the retelling. Luther considered Amsdorf’s proposition. He said if he’d intended to marry, he would’ve married Eva, one of the other nuns he’d married off. She was pretty and sweet. Katie was . . . well, Katie spoke her mind. She wasn’t his first choice; she was the one who was left. But  Luther prayed, and then he decided to marry Katie. Getting married would heal some grievances his father had with him, and it’d make a political and theological statement to the world: that monks and nuns were free to marry. Most important of all, Luther said getting married would “spite the devil,” who was against all Christian freedom. Luther and Katie weren’t in love when they married. They weren’t even well suited, as they were the two most stubborn people in the Holy Roman Empire. But their stubbornness was pointed in the same direction, and within a matter of weeks, confessions of love and affection for his wife started to seep into Luther’s letters to his friends. Instead of being a drag on his ministry, as his friends worried she’d be, Katie enabled Luther to teach and preach more than ever before. She unburdened him. Their marriage was built on respect and the freedom to serve one’s neighbor—which included each other. The Word Sets Us Free What can we learn from Katie? She clearly believed that Christian freedom applied to her too. In Christ, she was “a perfectly free lord of all.” No one could tell her who she had to marry. No one would tell her she needed to marry at all. Later, as the wife of the famous Luther, she repeatedly saw how people told him what “needed” to be done so the church would survive. Luther’s answer: “I did nothing; the Word did everything.” Having a proper handle on who holds the church and the world together frees us from spiritually manipulative compulsion. But when this word of freedom is grasped by faith, we can truly love the neighbor God has put in front of us. By marrying Luther, Katie chose a position that enabled her to use her home as a hospital during the Black Plague, take in orphans, host dignitaries and scholars from around the world, and be the deepest encouragement to her husband. Her life was a life of service, in true freedom.

I sank deeper into our couch as I read one news headline after another on my phone. Articles about upcoming elections, global conflicts, and natural disasters sent me into an anxious spiral. I wondered how the church could remain faithful to Christ in such a confusing, corrupt, and hopeless age. My children interrupted my doomscrolling with a stack of books and pleading looks in their eyes. We’d just checked out books from the library about Reformation Day and the reformers. I put away my phone, and my children curled up on the couch next to me. Cracking open the first picture book, I read about Martin Luther. In a world of political and religious tension, Christ helped him stand up for truth and endure persecution. I read about the young Queen Jeanne of Navarre, who courageously used her reign to spread the gospel despite her family’s opposition. I read about William Tyndale, who gave his life to make the Bible available in English to all people. The more I read, the more hope and courage replaced my fear and anxiety. I’ve long loved learning about church history and reading biographies of faith heroes. Stories of past faithful Christians can buoy our present faithfulness and strengthen our hope for the future. Present Encouragement from Past Christians Our generation may face unique struggles, but believers in every age and culture have had to fight sin, defend the truth, and endure persecution. Even in these tense and tumultuous days, we can hold fast to the security, confidence, and hope we have in Christ by remembering his faithfulness to uphold his people throughout church history. Church History Demonstrates God’s Sovereign Reign Watching news anchors expound on global politics and crises, it’s tempting to believe that world leaders ultimately determine the future of our country and even of the church. However, Proverbs 21:1 reminds us, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.” We see God’s sovereignty over kings demonstrated throughout biblical and church history, especially in how God uses secular leaders to bring forth his blessing and his judgment. God allowed German nobility (even those with self-serving motives) to protect Luther and spread his teachings. God used King Henry VIII’s sinful desire for divorce to separate England from Roman Catholicism, which opened the door for the Reformation to spread. When political leaders—often Christian ones—persecuted Anabaptists, God worked through their martyrdom and preserved their pursuit for religious freedom that influenced many modern churches. Our generation may face unique struggles, but believers in every age and culture have had to fight sin, defend the truth, and endure persecution. Even ungodly leaders who did evil couldn’t overthrow God’s providential plan to grow his church. We can take heart when evil powers reign, because God is still enthroned in heaven, enacting his will for our good and his glory. Church History Reminds Us of Our True Citizenship The reformers didn’t get everything right. After escaping persecution, Lutherans persecuted the Anabaptists for their stance on religious freedom. When Tyndale’s Bible translation was finally accepted, only merchants and aristocrats were allowed to read it. Reformers often used their newfound power to enact violence against Roman Catholics. We can learn from both the faithfulness and the mistakes of past Christians. What if Lutherans had appreciated the Anabaptists’ emphasis on discipleship? What if Anabaptists had learned from Lutherans’ boldness in the secular world? How much more would they have been characterized by Christ’s love if they’d worked together? Paul appealed to the Corinthian church to prioritize their identity in Christ over their adherence to a certain leader so that there would “be no divisions among [them]” and they’d “be united in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10). We can find strength in our current culture by joining with believers who are united with us in Christ, even while they disagree with or differ from us. Church History Instills Hope for Future Generations Parents often echo the fear, “What kind of world will our children live in?” Christian parents can see the culture’s current trajectory and fret that future generations will experience hardship and persecution they won’t be able to endure. While recent research shows church attendance and religious affiliation is decreasing in America, a broader view of church history encourages believers that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against” Christ’s church (Matt. 16:18). Our current age and culture may bring unique difficulties that past generations didn’t face. But Christ has always worked in his people to help them endure persecution, remain holy, and rectify heresies. God raised up Luther to correct the false teaching of indulgences. God called John Calvin to remind his people about his sovereignty amid mighty world leaders. God empowered the Anabaptists to demonstrate the importance of personal commitment to Christ. The same God who sustained these reformers as they fought against the culture’s grain will uphold his people today until he brings us home to glory. Our Western world may be more hostile toward Christianity in the future, but we don’t have to fear because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Look to Christ in All of History The Reformation was a turning point not only in the church’s history but also in the world’s. Five hundred years from now, believers may look back at the past few decades as a similar turning point for the Western world and the church. But in doing so, they’ll see God’s hand protecting and purifying his people as he reigned sovereignly over leaders and culture. The same God who sustained the reformers as they fought against the culture’s grain will uphold his people today until he brings us home to glory. By looking back on our rich church history, we can have confidence, security, and hope today and in the future. “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” (12:1)—from every generation and culture—reminding us of God’s sovereignty, our eternal citizenship, and our unshakable future. When fear and anxiety tempt us to forget our Christian identity, God’s power, and the hope of heaven, let’s turn off the news and open the pages of church history. Then we can “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (vv. 1–2).