When we live with passion, we honor God powerfully because He created us with passion and loves us with a passion. If we are to reflect the image of our Creator, we ought to be passionate people. This is all about a basic mindset, a heart attitude for embracing life positively, energetically and full on. It is about valuing every moment of everyday and seeing life itself as a gift from God. I am not talking about being passionate only about spiritual things, but we are to have a Christianity that embraces all of life.

If we are to live a passionate life, we must first understand the difference between passion and obligation. You do what you want from passion, but you do what you have to from a sense of obligation. We see this principle displayed in the life of an Olympic athlete. There is an inner force of passion that drives and athlete to sacrifice, stay focused and stay committed. What do athletes like Christy Yamaguchi, Tiger Woods, Steve Young and others who have succeeded in their field of sports have in common? Discipline. It is a passion that motivates them to get out of bed and train when everyone else is asleep, to forgo late nights and an unhealthy lifestyle. Passion drives them to a disciplined life.

Things in life often start out as a passion but end up becoming a boring obligation.
Is there an area of your life that began with passion, but it has ended up becoming a boring obligation? Take for instance Faith. It starts with passion, but it can become just a ritual, or Marriage begins with passion, but can become a boring routine. Ministry starts with passion and ends up as an obligation. We need to have a regular heart-check to determine if our life has become one big, boring obligation, or if we are still infused with a passion for God and life.

Another reason why some people lose their passion is because they think it is not spiritual to be passionate about things that aren’t sacred. However, Paul writes in Colossians 3:23, Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men…(NKJV). This shows us that God does not want us to divide our passion. Some of us are only passionate about spiritual matters, like church, Bible study or Christian events, but not about our family, marriage, work, leisure or hobbies. I find myself being guilty in this area. I love my family, but I wish I could spend more time in fellowship with them. It is wonderful to be passionate about our spiritual life, but something is wrong if that is the only area where passion is applied.

We should not separate the sacred and the secular because Paul wrote, whatever you do, do it heartily. I feel the Spirit is speaking not just to me, but also to some of you as I write this message. Yes, Paul’s words apply to every area of our lives, including those things we must do, those things we choose to do, those things we are gifted to do, those things we are commanded to do, and those things we are called to do.

Let us allow the Holy Spirit to embrace our entire lives including the details of our normal, seemingly boring everyday life – I believe we can turn any situation into a part of the adventure of being a Christian.

My prayer for you today is for us not to settle for a mere existence, but to pursue the passionate, abundant life that Jesus came to give you. Give Him the glory!

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10 (KJV)