Divine Passion

What are you passionate about? Sports? Your preferred presidential candidate? A favorite video game or TV show? Having your own personal space? Being seen as a capable individual?

I think one of the greatest tragedies of our day is how we perceive growing up as giving up – giving up on the big dreams and the deep passionate cravings of our soul. We are told over and over again all the “logical” reasons why we “can’t” do or be all we dreamed we would do or be – and the older we get, the more responsibility we take on, the more logical we become, the more we begin to see our dreams as “pipe dreams”, “wishful thinking” and ultimately, unattainable fantasies.

This is especially tragic for the Christian. So often we get caught up in the busy-ness of life we forget where real, abundant life comes from. We lose our “heart” for Christ – we lose our passion for that relationship – and with it we lose our courage to step out in faith and let God do amazing things in and through our lives. Christ said He came "that they [Believers] may have life, and have it abundantly.” He did not come so that we could be redeemed from our bondage to sin only to find ourselves in bondage to the demands of daily living! He came that we might have LIFE – real ABUNDANT (passionate) life that the unredeemed cannot even imagine. Where did we lose sight of that? How did we fall into the carefully designed trap of mundane living?

I think it’s a matter of heart over mind. Note, I did not say heart instead of mind. God gave us our mental faculties too and reason must play a part in our decision making processes. However, in our day and age, too often we use our minds instead of our hearts when we should be using them in conjunction with our hearts . . . and our hearts should more often be taking the lead in the matter.

“For above all else, the Christian life is a love affair of the heart. It cannot be lived primarily as a set of principles or ethics. It cannot be managed with steps and programs. It cannot be lived exclusively as a moral code leading to righteousness.” (excerpted from The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge)

If you are a child of God, I challenge you to stop – listen to the whisperings of your heart in the quietness of your mind. Some will say, “But ‘the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked’” (Jeremiah 17:9). And to that I reply – Yes, True – for the unredeemed! But we who are in Christ are new creatures – old things (the deceitful, wicked heart) are passed away and ALL things (including our hearts) have become NEW (2nd Corinthians 5:17). This is why Psalm 37:4 can say, “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (emphasis mine).

For the Believer who is walking with Christ, the heart is the one thing we should be listening to above all else. God’s ways are not often “reasonable” from a human perspective – but He is not tied to human ways or reason – His ways are not our ways (Romans 11:33). We must remember that we really CAN “do all things through Christ.” If our hearts passionately follow God and we follow our hearts, we will not give up as we grow up – rather, we will find ourselves in the most amazing position of actually living out our biggest dreams.

So, Christian, stop and listen to the divine passion God has given you. Don’t listen to the “nay-sayers” – trust God, follow your heart, have the courage to believe He can accomplish it, and watch Him do amazing things in and through you!