For those of you who know me, (like, really know me) you know how much I value passion. There are very few things in this world that can compete with the feeling of being adrenaline-induced, driven by some motivational speech that keeps playing on repeat inside of your head. On top of that, you actually want to feel it. You desire it. Even more than feeling it, you are it. You are passionate. You meet the standard requirements. There is no if-by-whiskey alternative, you either are or you aren’t.
I’ve been reading Jimmy Allen’s book Back On Track, a proposed 40-day long series of studies of various qualities of understanding God and our response to God. Like its namesake, it is geared toward anyone who feels the need to reroute their directions to a healthy spiritual life and/or anyone who feels they’ve never caught the train.
As the man who led the congregation I was part of for 15 years of my life, I found particular interest in his book. As a friend and mentee. He writes on this very thing I treasure…
On out coldest Connecticut day in January, I suggested to our congregation that we have an outdoor service at the park down the street. They recoiled in horror. “What about our children?” someone queried, in a tone of voice that implied their kids were not foremost in their minds.
In a quick effort to save my job, I told the crowd we would not be meeting outside that day. It was all a joke. However, I did inform them that two professional football games would be played that same day. Both locations of NFL cities were forecast to have snow, freezing rain, gusty winds and sub-zero-wind-chill factors. Both football stadiums hold over 60,000 fans and would be filled to beyond capacity. In addition to this, each attendee would pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege of being outside to se these once-in-a-lifetime playoff games.
As I said, you can be passionate about everything but God in today’s world. Here, you have to sit quietly at a church service. It works best if you have long, sad face and hands folded on your lap. You get bonus points if you throw a dollar or two into the collection plate, but that is not required.
If you get passionate about Jesus, you are considered a cult member at worst and a Bible Banger at best.
In the middle of this mentality, I opened my Bible and read the greatest commandment. It says (in The Message translation) to “love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.”
The #1 thing it seems our Father is searching for is a love filled with every bit of passion inside us. And that should start with a love for him. In the first century, people traveled long distances on foot to hear Christ. Do you consistently drive a few minutes to fellowship, attend Bible studies and learn from his word? Back in the day, hundreds died for him. Are you willing to live for him now?
What, if any, do you have passion for? What, or for whom (to all you daters/marrieds our there) would you walk “A Thousand Miles” (holla back, Vanessa Carlton!) to see? What sporting event would you save an entire months salary — talking to college students here — just to see? How many posters of Justin Beiber do you have hanging in your room? You see what I’m getting at here…
“The Big Year” is a movie about three passionate bird-watchers who spend a grandiose chunk of their own bank accounts and time to catch a glimpse of the world’s most aesthetically pleasing birds. To the vast majority, such a feat is ridiculous. Yet, these men entertain passion — no matter how foolish their enamor for those wingers may be.
Put whatever your passions are on an intellectual balance beam with your relationship with God. If the weight of your God-love is as light as a piece of cotton in comparison to a your sumo-wrestler measured passion on the other side, you’ve got to start reevaluating where your heart is. Perhaps, it’s time for you to get Back On Track…
