The Eternal Kind of Life Now

It is easy to get fixated on big issues like Expelled fall out and politics (both very important for Christ followers to engage and have significant impact on a Christian worldview). But today, I wanted to take a deep breath and go a different direction.

"And this is the way to have eternal life--to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth." - John 17:3 (NLT)

Eternal Life. It is not something that happens when you die (though that is a part of the picture). It is in the here and now. And it is about knowing Jesus Christ and God the father by means of the Spirit. As I struggle and journey through this life, I need to remember this. This is where life is found. And we learn how to live life by being an apprentice of Jesus. One of my favorite writers and thinkers is Dallas Willard. In The Divine Conspiracy, he puts it like this:

"To counteract this [i.e., gospel of sin management or just going to heaven when I die] we must develop a straightforward presentation, in word and life, of the reality of life now under God's rule. through reliance upon the word and person of Jesus. In this way we can naturally become his students and apprentices. We can learn from him how to live our lives as he would live them if he were we. We can enter this eternal kind of life now."