Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof - Plough

Against the Wind
These circumstances raised Eberhard’s estimation of his uncle still higher. Here
was a man like none other; the young man had never felt so well understood by an
adult. And there was something else about his uncle that impressed Eberhard: he
wrote later that in Uncle Ernst he found a courageous, joyful Christianity and a
love of Jesus and the poor such as he had never before encountered.
One occasion in particular left Eberhard seechless. A “soldier” from the Salvation
Army was invited to a meal, and Ernst Ferdinand Klein welcomed him warmly,
calling him “brother” and listening attentively to his account of “work to save souls”
in the dark corners of Berlin. 16 As Eberhard would later relate, even though he
was deeply impressed by his uncle’s resect for the simple man from the Salvation
Army, he was still more impressed by the dedication and self-denial that he sensed
in this guest. 17
During the four weeks at his aunt and uncle’s home, Eberhard discovered the
New Tesament, and the Gosels in particular. He was embarrassed when relatives
suddenly came in and surprised him at his bible reading. He neither wanted nor
felt able to seak – even to his uncle – about the questions it raised for him. Only
when it came time to leave did Eberhard disclose his anxiety that he had no one at
his home who could help him to a clearer understanding of Jesus. Ernst Ferdinand
Klein tried to disel his worries.
Back in Breslau at the beginning of August, Eberhard and Clara each stayed
with different family friends while their parents vacationed on the North Sea
coast with the two youngest daughters, Betty and Hannah. Eberhard stayed with
an elderly professor and his family. This man was also a professing Christian,
but he was very sober and rigid – hardly a confidant. Fortunately, Eberhard
discovered in his room a copy of Thomas à Kempis’s The Imitation of Christ, a
work already five centuries old. Eberhard Arnold had found a key to the Gosels
and a guide for following in Jesus’ footsteps: “‘He who follows me, does not walk
in darkness,’ says the Lord. In these words Christ urges us to imitate his life and
acions if we want to find true enlightenment and be freed from all blindness of
heart. Therefore it must be our first concern to immerse ourselves in the life of
Jesus Christ.” 18
dEdiCation
In the ensuing weeks Eberhard must have used almost every free moment to read
and think things over. He would say later that the image of Jesus had come to
him in blinding clarity. To follow Jesus became the most urgent demand on his
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