“We live in a world of competing passions. If we do not die to self and fill our lives with the consuming passion of the worship of God among the nations, we will end up with other passions. It’s possible to deceive ourselves into thinking we have biblical passions when, in reality, all we have done is to baptize the values of our culture and give them Christian names”-Floyd McClung
What is your passion? Notice that I said passion in the singular. You can only have one.
Some may say they have a passion for sports and for good food and for a great cause. I don’t think all of those can be passions. One will win out over the other. When it comes to passion there is only one throne and only one ruler can sit on it. That’s why Jesus says “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37 NIV
My passion is to make Jesus famous among the nations. Part of that is pursuing what Phil Strout and the Vineyard have described as EDLD. So whenever I’m around anyone my goal is to see what God is doing in their life in regards to evangelism, discipleship, leadership development, and diversity.
This past weekend me and a team from South Suburban Vineyard church went to serve with folks from Without Walls Vineyard. We got to pray for people at a roller rink and I preached on Sunday morning. What gave me joy the most was seeing our team excited about Jesus. Seeing God confirm their words as they risked embarrassment. Talking to strangers and inviting them to church. Jesus was so real to us. Those are the things that give me joy and I can’t stop talking about them.
I used to think that pursuing those things with anyone anywhere at anytime was off balance. But looking around at the passions of others I see that the person who is into rock climbing is off balance. The person who is into football is off balance. The person who is into Empire or Scandal or Star Wars is off balance. We are all imbalanced. The question is What are we imbalanced about?
Passion is a part of what it means to be human and when you supress it you become less than yourself. I’ve come to a point in my life where I can’t supress the passion I have for Christ. If I am going to be imbalanced then let it be for Jesus.
As John Wimber once said “I’m a fool for Christ. Whose fool are you?”
