A Letter to a Faithful Sister

Most beloved in Christ Jesus. Grace and peace. Dear, faithful sister in the Lord. My inmost soul is grieved on your behalf, more than I can write; for I understand from our beloved brothers that you can hardly consent to the desire and prayer of the afflicted, shepherdless church concerning your beloved husband. I cannot severely reprove you for your conduct if I look at it in a carnal and not in a spiritual light. I also understand from the words of Lenart and Helmicht that you hoped I would excuse Lenart from serving. Most beloved sister in Christ Jesus, I trust that by the grace of God I sincerely love you with divine love in God, and that I am ready to serve you and all pious people, even with my blood, if it is required. But, beloved sister, who am I that I should resist the Holy Spirit? You know that it was not I but the church that called him to this service, without my knowledge. Since the church desires him so imploringly, and since he perhaps cannot in good conscience refuse them, how could I then oppose it? For I can find nothing in Lenart for which I could scripturally oppose his being called. Dear sister, I am sorry that I cannot help you in this matter, for the sorrow and fear of your flesh pierce my heart as often as I think of it; but above all we must act in love to God and to our brothers. You are called by the Lord, and by the working of your faith you have committed yourself to the service of Jesus Christ and of your brothers as long as you live; and I trust that you will willingly fulfill it, even at the risk of money, possessions and life. You surely understand how needful it is. Therefore remember the days of your enlightenment, and obediently and with resignation fulfill what you have willingly and without constraint promised the Most High.

O beloved sister, look at the forsaken state and misery of your beloved brothers. The spiritual fathers have become betrayers of souls; the watchmen have become blind leaders, and the shepherds wolves. The walls of Jerusalem are laid waste; the stones of the sanctuary are trampled at the corner of every street. Great is the plague of Israel. With Jeremiah and Ezra we may well sigh and weep bitterly and let our tears flow down our cheeks; indeed, our inmost soul must be grieved at the need of our beloved brothers when we take to heart the very great hunger and thirst of many pious hearts, the accursed deceiving of evil spirits, and the dissensions, sects and all such evils. Now the merciful Lord has gifted our beloved brother with his divine knowledge, has enlightened him with his Holy Spirit and gifted him with speech and wisdom, so that the brothers are pleased with him, sincerely love him and desire his talent. If, then, for the sake of your flesh and blood you should oppose this and not consent to it, it would seem to me to be nothing else than this: as if you saw your brothers in imminent danger of their lives, saw them in fire or water, in suffering, want and misery, and would not help them at your own peril. Dear sister, love your brothers as Christ Jesus has loved us. If for the sake of your brothers you should be deprived of your property, remember that Christ for a time left the glory of his Almighty Father and the company of angels, so that we might obtain an eternal inheritance in heaven. As long as we live we shall have enough of the necessities of life, if we fear God, depart from evil and do what is right.

Yes, sister, be of good cheer. The eternal Truth has promised us salvation if we seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The necessities of life will be provided for us. If, then, you are anxious for your husband’s flesh, remember and believe that our life is measured by spans; that life and death are in the hands of the Lord; that not a hair falls from our heads without the will of our Father. He protects us as the apple of his eye.

Elias, David, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Peter and Paul all escaped the hands of the tyrant, and no one could injure a single hair of their heads as long as the appointed day and hour had not come. For as long as the Lord has more pleasure in our life than in our death, they cannot injure us; but when our death is more pleasing to the Lord than our life, we cannot escape from their hands. O beloved sister, even if our beloved brother should not serve our brothers, he has already, years ago, committed himself to danger of death, tribulation, misery, scorn, persecution, anxiety, robbery, water, fire and sword. And even if he had not committed himself to the cross by baptism, indeed, even if he could pass through all cities, countries, and nations unmolested, you do not know at what moment he would have to put off this tabernacle of clay and appear before his God. Therefore, beloved, faithful sister, be strong in the Lord; be of good cheer; commend yourself to the Most High God, who holds heaven and earth in his hand; who has given you and your husband body and soul; who has called you in the word of his grace; who has purchased and delivered you with the blood of his blessed Son; who has washed, sanctified and cleansed you with his Holy Spirit. His mercy is above all his works; he knows your going out and your coming in, your sitting down and your rising up. Indeed, you were before him before you were formed in your mother’s womb; it is he who searches the hearts and reins; he knows what our brothers seek. Beloved sister, strengthen your husband and do not weaken him; for it is required of us that if we love God we should also love our brothers. In short, prove yourself to be to your neighbor what Christ has proved to be to you; for by this one sure and unchangeable rule all Christian actions must be measured and judged. See, worthy, faithful sister, since the church calls our beloved brother to the office and service, I cannot in good conscience interfere; otherwise I should love flesh, your flesh, more than Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior and my sincerely beloved brothers.

May the Almighty, merciful Father act in this matter according to his divine pleasure, and guide the heart of my beloved sister to be resigned to his holy will. I sincerely thank my beloved sister for the gift of your love which you have sent me. May the Lord repay you with the heavenly riches of eternal glory. My wife greets you with the peace of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ be forever with my most beloved friend and sister, Amen.

Your brother in the Lord,

MENNO SIMON.

In the year 1553.