Passion (The Wilful Sunflower)

Last night I read Untimely.org's pithy post on the Bobble Head Jesus. Their conclusion?

You know, if someone were to market the Bobble Head Muhammad, they'd probably become the victim of road rage.This really struck me. See, Islam is the national religion over here, and I rub shoulders with Muslims every day. Each time they mention Muhammad's name or even simply say "The Prophet", they utter, "Peace be upon him" before they go on to complete their original sentence. To them, he is simply God's last & greatest prophet, whereas Jesus is God Himself to us. Yet often we don't even have one-third the kind of reverence for Him that the Muslims have for Muhammad!

I say this because I myself am guilty of this kind of apathy. One of the most common forms of irreverence is to (mis)use God's name as a swear or curse word. Sure, I don't take God's name in vain at least, not most of the time but that's more a matter of habit than anything else. It's not like I consciously refrain from muttering, "Jesus Christ!"; I'm just not used to doing it, is all. I'm already getting inured to "Oh, my God!" and "damn" and "bloody hell" (again, I'm thankful Mom doesn't have access to my blog... *phew* *rolls eyes*). One thing I worry about is complacency; I'm surrounded by people who use the notorious four-letter "f" word all the time and who think nothing of it. I admit I've gotten pretty blasé over the whole thing. It's no big deal anymore, and that's scary.

Reverence of God and passion for Him surely must go hand-in-hand. If we love God, we will not only be passionate FOR Him, but we will also be passionately AGAINST anything that casts a slur upon His name or that detracts from His glory.

What does it mean to be passionate about something? Coincidentally, Jim of Brainwaves posted yesterday exploring the meaning of that particular word, "passion". In tracing the origin and the real meaning of the word, he found:

While I think most of us would view it in terms of "love", the fact is that its meaning goes beyond what we might consider normal. "Heated up" so as to be driven by anger, hate, or even sexual lust is more its meaning. Its roots are in the Latin word for "suffering"; so, in other words, "you've got it so bad, it hurts!" I know. Who hasn't said that someone else has a "passion" for bowling, or hunting, or any number of other activities? But what we're really expressing with such description is the idea that something actually attracts a man, to the point of controlling him. And that made me wonder: what is the "driving force" within various areas of my life? What "motivates" me?...........That's not an easy question to answer. What motivates me?

Of course, I tell myself that I'm motivated by all kinds of godly impulses; however the fact remains that, as Jeremiah says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9).

For example, I buy lots of Christian books, telling myself I want to learn more about God and godly principles for living. But deep down, I feel a sense of pride at owning books by "good" authors, and if I look closely enough, I discover a self-righteous feeling of, "Hey, I'm reading all the right, useful stuff!" My motivations are exposed when I smugly tell people, "I have this book, that book, that book and that book." Ouch. Sometimes when I buy books, at the back of my mind lurks the thought, "This will look so good on my shelf!" *wince* (I just re-read that sentence... *double wince*)

What motivates me? What am I really passionate about? Is it God? I hope it is God. I want it to be God. Dare I ask Him to break me, mould me, change me? For it will be painful; I know it will be hard, and I expect it to involve tears and testing. Yet dare I not ask? Do I really want to remain this way, enslaved to proud and selfish desires, unable to be fully His? No, cutting the ties to the old me, breaking old habits, changing old perspectives, destroying my old value system all these will hurt, and yet, ultimately it is worth it. For, "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36); and who doesn't want to be free? :)

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.