Passion

I've recently been pondering a word - its meaning as well as its relevance to my life. That word is, yes, you guessed it - passion! I suppose I'm going to be Captain Obvious here and say that we should turn to the dictionary for a meaning (definition) and the Word for its relevance. It seems that this noun can be affected in two directions. It can be a sinful one, such as "lustful passion," or it can be a positive one, such as "passion for God." I'm going to focus on the more positive side of passion.

Dictionary.com says passion can mean:
Ardent love (or any other emotion for that matter)
Boundless enthusiasm
Martyrdom
among other things.

Some synonyms are: ardor, dedication, devotion, excitement, fervor, fire, intensity, joy, wrath, zeal.

Basically the point I'm trying to make is that passion is not a light word. It's strong, and having a passion isn't an idea we can toss aside. Often that passion takes the first place in your life, good or bad. So, what does the Bible have to say about this strong word? Well, the actual word passion appears 6 times in the NKJV, and every time it is used with the connotation of sinfulness (esp. sexual). Does that mean the only thing there is to be passionate about is sinning? I don't think so. Let me give some examples of a godly passion in the Bible.

Matthew 21:12 refers to the time in Christ's life where he became angry to the point of violence. He became so angry that he "drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves." John 2 talks about Jesus making a whip of cords. Now, I don't know if anyone has any experience in making whips of cords, but I imagine it took a while, sitting there weaving the thing - under a tree perhaps. The point is, Christ was passionate about preserving the temple for its proper use, and keeping it undefiled. Surprisingly, no one rose up to oppose Him. I imagine it would be scary to see the Lord of heaven and earth angry, and thats just in a form we can comprehend! Jesus is passionate about driving out sin.

In Luke 13:24, Christ tells us to "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able." I remember reading in John MacArthur's Hard to Believe that the word "strive" has almost violent connotations. The narrow gate is something to we need to fight for. We need to be violently passionate when it comes to living the life of God. With this standard: "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26), what less than a passion to live for Christ will suffice? I'm sure a devotion lacking in any strength will also lack in power to truly bring us to the feet of Christ. It takes all we have, and nothing less. That's passion.

Ultimately, Christ exhibited this passion on the cross. He died for something he was committed to. He is passionate about God's glory, and obedience to Him, and the fulfilment of His will, and loving and saving His lost sheep. With that perspective, everything else just seems easy.

2 Questions:
1. Could you say you are passionate about the Lord?
2. What are you going to do about that?