What lights your fire?

     Being a passionate person I have often wondered why so many others seem to have lost that zeal for life that defined them as children. God has certainly designed us with the potential to be passionate, but many seem to have carried so many struggles and disappointments from their past into their present that they are too burdened to celebrate. God is passionate about His love for people. Jesus was a passionate man, and this is seen in his love for His father's house, and His love for us. In Ecclesiastes 9:10 God calls on us to be passionate in whatever your hand finds to do, and do it with all your might.

     Now everyone loves something. That love moves us to action when it is allowed to become a conviction. You see a conviction is just a love or ideal that has been released by the power of enthusiasm and passion. Once a love becomes conviction nearly anything is possible, but giving up or turning back. Letting go and allowing our loves to be fanned into flame by our passion is what makes a sporting event such a joy for those in the stands. Their love of the game and passion for their team is such that they can not contain their enthusiasm. Their passion lived out brings great hope and releases the untapped potential we all have to celebrate and know the life more abundant and free Christ spoke about.

     Sports are the physical representation of the spiritual reality that goes on inside each of us. To win in sports we need to gain the momentum as we like to call it. When in reality momentum is just a change of opinion gained by some event or happening that gives them hope. This renewed hope fans the flame of enthusiasm to try just a little harder to take hold of a goal that was once considered lost. This reality is very important as we as believers have the opportunity to give that glimmer of hope to a world who has lost all hope in it’s goals and passions.

     How many Christians are living out their lives this very day with little or no passion? Even though they know the Bible says “To serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul”. How can that be done without passion? Where has the passion gone, and just how can we know real revival in our own lives and the life of the church? Return to our first Love! Successful people are just ordinary people who got passionate about what they love. Great churches are just ordinary churches that got passionate about their faith. When we add passion, emotion and action to our beliefs they will become convictions. And convictions are way too powerful to be contained in a life without emotion and power. The power of our convictions sets our lives in motion to really make a difference in the world around us. So don’t set down your present passions to pick up those burdens and disappointments from your past and miss out on the life more abundant and free you were created for. A life that lacks passion is certainly not Christ Like, nor is it nearly as fun as it could be!