Awakening is Christian City Church’s Young Adults Conference, held for the first time this year in three different locations: Sydney, London and New York. I’m highly anticipating this conference due to a combination of factors, primarily because God has given us the opportunity to talk up the Edify program and the Sexy Justice site via a stall at the conference (thanks Beth)! Besides that, I’m looking forward to being at Awakening simply because it is an opportunity for spiritual refreshment.
I was a delegate at Awakening in 2008 and thoroughly enjoyed my time there – it was a fantastic period in my life as God expanded my minuscule view of who he was (and is), and reminded me that we can almost go robotically about our business doing things for him rather than sitting at his feet like Mary (Luke 10:38-42), enjoying his presence and learning from him as an end in and of itself.
One message that stood out was Francis Chan‘s preaching on the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7. Jesus (through the Apostle John) sends seven letters to seven churches spread out across modern-day Turkey, and one of the churches was the Ephesian church. He says to the Ephesians in the NIV translation (verses 3-5):
“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
Chan’s point was that although doing works such as pursuing social justice and community formation is fantastic, we as a people of God should never forget the starting point and organising principle from which all our tangible actions of compassion flow: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Our first love must be our priority above all else. My ESV Study Bible footnotes says this regarding this passage:
“One interpretation is that Ephesus had lost its early love for Christ. Another interpretation is that Ephesian believers had lost love for one another and needed to revive the compassionate works they did at first. Many interpreters think both are in view, since love for Christ and love for one another are related.”
I’m very aware of the need to be still and know that he is God in the midst of the chaos and busyness of mission, justice, work and ministry; and to constantly check myself to see if my first love has been superseded by something or someone else. I’m really looking forward to being at Awakening again – seeing what Kingdom relationships will develop over our time there, listening to the voice of God in regards to what he wants to say to young adults in Sydney and of course, providing pathways for people to connect with the poor and live a life sent for Christ and the Kingdom.
So if you’re reading this post and heard about us from Awakening, make sure you leave us a comment!
Check out the Awakening website at: www.awakenthislove.com
kt
