I was talking with a friend the other day about a week long mission trip that he took a few years ago. I gathered from the conversation that he had never been with this particular group of people on such a trip. A woman from their church was driving the van in which he and a number of others were riding. My friend said that as they drove out of their city, the driver turned to the person sitting beside her and asked, “So what is your passion?” He said that one question launched a four hour conversation throughout the van.
I love to be around people who are passionate about something.
School teachers who are passionate about teaching.
Coaches who are passionate about seeing players excel.
Business people who are passionate about their service or the product they sell.
People who are passionate to find a cure for a disease.
I really do have a passion! My passion is to see men and women change. Nothing gets me more excited and makes me feel more alive than to see average ordinary people discover Jesus and begin to seriously follow him. That is why I enjoyed Sundays like yesterday.
The guy who was in our assembly who has so many problems and issues in his life and is learning to live in dependence on God.
The couples (several) who are engaged and who are seeking the Lord.
The man who said to me after the message that he needed to hear about the importance of repentance.
Several new people at church who are also trying to make new starts spiritually.
I have always had a heart for people who have made some “detours” along the way and now are desperately seeking God. Maybe that is because I identify.
Do you know your passion? Is there something about God and his mission that just causes you to come alive? Is there something about the kingdom of God that really does get you excited?
I really believe that one of the ways that Satan has impacted the church is by convincing us that the things of God are actually pretty boring. When we buy that, the result is deadly. First we lose any sense of a passion for God. Second, we begin to believe that the world offers us real excitement. Third, we become a people who go through the motions while our hearts are elsewhere.
It doesn’t have to be that way…