Reflections on the EFCA Challenge Conference, Part 4...

This week, I have been sharing some reflections on what I experienced with nine High School students and staff as we traveled to New Orleans for the EFCA Challenge Conference. The theme of the conference was "Everything is New" and focused on the fact the Jesus life, death, and resurrection changes everything.

Yesterday, I shared what Eric Mason challenged us with from the second chapter of a letter that is recorded for us in our Bibles called the book of Colossians. Today, I would like to share with you a second message that Eric shared with us,  as he unpacked the reality that we have a new kind of life as a result of our relationship with Jesus.

Eric began by explaining that if we are going to have a new kind of life, we have to recognize that our life is rooted in eternity, which the Apostle Paul reveals for us in Colossians 3:1-4:

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

In this passage, Eric unpacked for us that a person who has a new kind of life has an undomesticated passion for Jesus. In addition, a person who has a new kind of life has a heart that is no longer hardened to God. And as a result, a person who has a new kind of life will walk with God through difficulty.

Eric then challenged us that a person who has a new kind of life will prioritize Heaven's agenda. They will understand that God will edit your life to what He wants it to be. Also, a person who has a new kind of life that recognizes several Heavenly realities. First, they recognize that they have a new identity as a result of their relationship with Christ.

Second, they recognize and respond with a deep sense of the love of God. Third, they find themselves always feeling a sense of awkwardness in the world. Because their mind is set on the things above by having a spiritual mindset, they feel awkward with the fleshly mindset that is focused on the things of this earth.

And fourth, a person who has a new kind of life has an understanding that God gives us the grace to connect what is unconnectable. Jesus is our life and connects us with God as a result of His transformational activity.

Eric then concluded by reminding us that when Jesus returns, we will return with Him to experience the fullness of the life we were created for.

So, are you living a new life as a follower of Jesus that is rooted in eternity?