passion

What gets you fired up? I’m not talking about angry. I’m talking about so excited that it feels like you are going to come unglued inside. What I’m asking is this: what are you passionate about?

I know there are probably a few ways you can answer the question. I know there are for me. I could answer in the context of my marriage, my family or my hobbies. But when I really get down to the thing I am most passionate about, it is the transformation that has taken place in my life through Jesus Christ and sharing the message of transformation with other people. I have concluded that if I am not excited about my experience with Jesus, and therefore willing to tell everyone I can about it, there must be something different about my encounter with him than that of those I read about in Scripture. Those individuals did some very demonstrative things to express the great joy they had because of what Jesus had done for them, and they wanted to tell everyone about it.

Another reason I may not be as effective as I would like to be in sharing my faith is because I’ve just forgotten how awesome God’s grace is. More often then not, this is due to the fact I have become preoccupied with carnal pursuits.

I don’t think the answer for the lack of evangelism results in America today has anything to do with too little funding, the need for more Christian education or insufficient time. I think it all has to do with passion. The Bible says that in the last days people would not know how to properly express their affections (2 Timothy 3:3) and that their passion would lose its intensity (Matthew 24:12) all because of the effect of sin. Our attention has become so divided, our emotions so skewed, and our minds so saturated by unnatural desires that we have lost sight of the reality that Jesus really can, and will, fill all the empty spots in our lives. He not only fills those spots, he gives us abundant, satisfying and everlasting life. When we have experienced that life-giving transformation in a fresh way we will want to share it with everyone we come in contact with.