In the third grade I begged
for a guitar. I was tired of practicing
the piano and just knew if I had a guitar I would become the next Jimmy
Hendrix. When my birthday came around
the wrapped package was obviously a guitar.
I tore into the gift with unrestrained enthusiasm. I was proud of that guitar. I strapped it my shoulder and walked around
strumming the strings. I even pretended to make chords and sang on the spot
melodies. Something, however, quickly became
evident; I didn’t know how to play the guitar.
My passion for the guitar quickly faded with the reality that I would
have to work hard to become proficient.
I have been thinking about
passion because I read an author who said the church needs a renewed passion
for Jesus. Passion is an intense
emotion, compelling feeling, enthusiasm, and desire for something. Most often it is associated with
sexuality. In fact when you look in the
Bible all the passages that use the word passion have negative sexual
connotations. When we think of passion
in that sense we realize that it is short lived. Yes it is intense, but it doesn’t last and it
is self-centered.
Zeal is another word used in
the New Testament. It is a word that
conveys a strong affection toward, an ardent devotion to, to desire earnestly,
and aspire eagerly after. To be zealous
is to be fervent for and jealous of what is yours. Jesus was zealous for His Father’s
house. The Jews were zealous for God
(but without knowledge). Paul was zealous
in persecuting the church, and the Corinthian’s were zealous in their giving to
Paul’s ministry. Attached to zeal is
action that accomplishes something.
Yet, even Zeal has to have a
positive direction. Paul counted
everything, even his zeal, as loss compared to knowing Jesus. In Philippians Paul uses words like press on,
take hold, and forgetting. In Psalm
69:32 we are told to seek God and let our hearts be revived. And we are to be diligent to preserve the
unity, present for approval as unashamed workman, to enter Christ’s rest, make
certain our calling, and be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.
Passion is Great, its intense
and makes everyone feel good, but it is short lived. That’s why we are constantly calling people
to a renewed passion. Camping in the
Blue Ridge Mountains we found ourselves cold and wet. The rain had turned to a drizzle and we were
trying to get a fire going. Fortunately
I had packed a bag of birch bark. It
lights quickly and burns with intense heat, but by itself it was useless to
sustain a fire. We had to go from tree
to tree and find twigs that were sheltered from the rain. Ordering the twigs to maximize airflow I lit
the birch bark and the intense heat caught the twigs on fire, but the flame
would quickly die out if it wasn’t fanned, and the fire wouldn’t last if we
didn’t add more twigs and finally larger pieces of wood. Paul reminded Timothy of his mother's and
grandmother's faith and prayers that grounded him in his faith, but Timothy’s
passion couldn’t sustain him, and Paul told him: “For this reason I remind you to kindle
afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” 
Passion gets it started, Zeal
keeps it moving, but it is the pressing on, taking hold, and being diligent
that will sustain our faith in Christ.
We need less birch bark and more kindling.
I’m just saying…
No comments:
Post a Comment