"There's a popular misconception that religion, Christianity specifically, is about knowing the difference between good and evil so that we can choose the good. But being good has never set me free the way truth has. Knowing all of this makes me love and hate Jesus at the same time. Because, when instead of contrasting good and evil, he contrasted truth and evil, I have to think about all the times I've substituted being good (or appearing to be good) for truth.
Very often, I will avoid truth until my face goes red like a toddler avoiding her nap; until limp limbed, she finally stops flailing and receives rest - the very thing she needs and the very thing she fights. When someone like me, who will go to superhero lengths to avoid the truth, runs out of options - when I am found out or too exhausted to pretend anymore or maybe just confronted by my sister - it feels like the truth might crush me. And that is right. The truth does crush us, but the instant it crushes us, it somehow puts us back together into something honest. It's death and resurrection every time it happens."
- from Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint, by Nadia Bolz-Weber (p. 73-4)
Photo credit: Shattered" by Erik, on Flickr
Tags:
Quotable Wednesdays