The title of this article falls into what is called an Oxymoron in English grammar. This is because a Christian by definition, is a passionate follower of Christ.
Passion is what drives you to do something even when the conditions are not favourable. It is something that drives a man to achieve something regardless of whether others have tried and failed.
A passionate man is one who has a mission, a goal or a target. He strives to achieve this goal, willing to endure the challenges and hardships along the way. He knows that as he pursues his goal, he will meet people who will try to discourage him; showing him real evidence of why his goal is unattainable but he keeps moving because there is something driving him on towards his goal.
A solid example of a man with a passion is Jesus Christ. Right from the time He was born, efforts were made to cut short his mission. When he started his ministry as an adult, every where he turned, there was opposition.
It is quite ironic that most of the opposition He faced was from the religious leaders of His day. Nothing could have been more discouraging than facing hurtful and cruel opposition from the people who claim to believe in the same cause or pursuit as you. Did that deter Jesus? No way! That is why the scriptures records, 'The zeal of your house has consumed me' (Psalm 69:9)
Jesus would never have been able to achieve His aim of dying for the world and making salvation available to all if He did not have something driving Him. What drove Jesus with determination towards this goal? it is simply one word, Love.
Jesus loved the Father and was willing to do anything to please Him. He shared the love of the Father for the world and this is why He allowed himself to be offered as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17 –18)
The Love for man drove Jesus to undertake long journeys to preach the good news. Love drove Him to spend hours on end teaching, healing and setting people free from demon possession.
The early apostles were no different. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they went out preaching and teaching. They were arrested, beaten and tortured many times but that did not deter them from the purpose of their calling. They saw men in massive numbers travelling on the highway to hell and did all within the grace that was given to them to turn as many hearts to God. Only the love for men’s souls could have motivated men to do this.
Unfortunately, in our day, there are a lot of dispassionate Christians. They believe in the salvation message and go to church. They probably get involved in programs once in a while and give when it is convenient.
Before going further to criticize these dispassionate Christians, let us examine our own lives. What is our passion? What drives us to do the things we do for God? Do you feel upbeat every time and always ready when called upon to serve?
When I wake up on a Sunday and don’t feel like going to church but got up and went anyway, was it because I love God or did I do it as a sense of duty or because I don’t want to be seen as someone who skips church meetings?
The basis for passion is love. When a man loves something, he goes for it with all his heart. He does not allow anything to deter him. Have you seen a man trying to win the heart of a woman he loves? Nothing is more important to him at that time than to get a positive result.
God expects nothing else. We have been saved so that we can share in His passion. We cannot afford to be dispassionate; it is not in the nature of the Christian to be without passion, it is indeed an oxymoron to be a dispassionate Christian.
How do we rediscover the passion expected of us as Christians? We answer this question from the scriptures; “Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I’m well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle” (Revelation 2:5 © The Message)
Let us rediscover the joy we once had when we gave our lives to Christ and rekindle the passion that makes us who we truly are - Children of the Most High God.
Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the founder of the Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives in Kent, United Kingdom, where he works as an IT Professional. He currently serves as a Worship Leader as well as Home Group Leader in his local church and on occasion, speaks at invited events. He is the founder of the Biblepraise Fellowship Online Ministry and Moderator/Editor of the Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org
