In The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis portrays our life with God as a journey “further up and further in.”
Further up and further in. I think about this phrase all the time, because it captures our desire and goal for RUF: to see college students move further up and into RUF, so that they might move further up and into God and the Church.
How does this happen? There is an individual and a corporate dimension. Individually, students move “further up and further in” by connecting to the “means of grace”: especially prayer and the Scriptures. Corporately, students move “further up and further in” by identifying more and more with RUF: they start by a) “hearing of” RUF, then they b) “attend” RUF, then they c) “belong to” RUF, and eventually they d) “feel responsible for” RUF.
This semester, I’ve been encouraged by students who have begun to feel responsible for the health and well-being of RUF: We have a student who has become a leader in his fraternity and invites new faces to Large Group each week. We also have a sophomore girl who had no connection with RUF but now sings on our music team.
Spring is a season of “further up and further in.” It is a joy to see light bulbs turn on for students, and to watch them sink deeper into Christ’s life and love for them.
“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” 2 PETER 3:13 (ESV)