Here’s the quote I used this past Tuesday at Dust. These are three passages drawn from two different books by Herbert McCabe written on the same topic (God,Christ, & Us and Faith Within Reason).
“Sin does not alter God’s attitude to us; it alters our attitude to him, so that we change him…
I’m truly, truly, truly,
beyond, over-whelmingly, out-of-my-mind thankful for the community that I have somehow, by the grace of God, been thrust into.
Okay, well, time for vulnerability, I was literally terrified when I was introduced to Renovatus. College was whatever, it didn’t make me very nervous, making friends, never worried about it, I’m pretty social, and my tininess/curly hair usually makes a plethora of friends on it’s own (not to sound shallow), but finding a God-pursuing community: that, for whatever reason, scared me to death. And now I can see why. I was super comfortable sitting in my little, idle seat, reading my bible, being nice to people, and having healthy fellowship with friends. Challenge was the enemy, and now the enemy started showing it’s ugly head, poking through the curtains, and straight up making itself known to me. I liked my filthy problems; I enjoyed sitting in my slop, watching everyone else. All of a sudden, I was ashamed of myself. And I knew Challenge was who I was going to have to face.
SO here comes Renovatus. Haha, I don’t even know how to put it into words. That kind of defeats the purpose of a blog, huh? Anyway. Challenge and love were never two in the same until I met these people. Admitting to faults was never okay, and loving people this openly was always a job, not a loving commitment. My mind was blown. My mind IS blown. Every day. Every time I step foot into the presence of one of you. Whether it’s at church or outside of church, which only makes it that much more real.
My heart is vulnerable, it’s being twisted in ways that couldn’t be more painful or confusing, my mind is everywhere, but I’m full of joy all the same. The pursuit of a clean heart is so rewarding. I never knew how much I needed the impact of people such as these. The Lord has revealed so much truth through them already. Thank you, Dusties, for living a life of obedience and love.
I love you all so much.
