Passion for Christ

Today, a question at a ballgame and encouragement from Sunday's sermon collide! Are you ready for it?!

A lot of us are familiar with The Passion of the Christ film that came out ten years ago. When I saw the movie, it impacted how I looked at Christ's sacrifice. It made me realize to a greater degree than before, how physically horrendous Christ's torture was. And I know that this torture paled in comparison to the separation He would face on the cross as He bore the sins of the world and the wrath of the Almighty God fell upon Him and His Father forsook Him. It's amazing to think that Christ was forsaken by God so that I never would be. That thought touches me so deeply.

Perhaps this is not the best match for this post as far as pictures go. I took it recently at a ballgame as I thought of the question I ask myself on other occasions to the ballpark, which is something to the sort of, "Look at all these people going crazy and being so excited about this game. What would happen if people got this excited about Jesus?"

Now you may not even be into sports, but the question is really a matter of the heart. Whatever you're fond of or enjoy and get excited about...are you as excited about the Lord as that? It's a fair question, I think. I am finding that even "good" things like marriage, parenting, homeschooling, music, singing, ministering...yeah, I can get more excited about those things than about God.

And I'm not suggesting that this question applies only to a Sunday worship service. Don't get me wrong! I'm all for people making that vertical, intimate connection with God during times of praise and worship where everyone and everything around them fades away and it's just them and God. They don't care who or if anyone is watching them. They enter into that special, secret place where the words connect with their heart and the only response is to just raise their hands to God in surrender and adoration. (That is really just wonderful and I hope everyone knows what that is like.)

But I'm really talking about more than that. I'm talking about beyond the four walls of the church. I'm talking about outside of the church activities. I'm talking about our daily lives. And I'm talking about more than outward demonstrations of adoration and passion for God.

Today, "passion" has a much different meaning than where it originated from. The origins of this word go back to 1125-1175 AD. It stems from the Latin word "passiō", which means suffering and submission.

This begs the question, am I passionate for God the way I ought to be? Am I willing to suffer because I love God? Am I willing to submit my will and desires to being crucified daily? Am I willing to look like a fool for my Lord?

Jesus did that for each one of us. He looked like a fool. Our pastor reminded us of that this past Sunday, that as Jesus was dying on the cross, people challenged Him by saying if He was really Who He said He was, then He could just come down from the cross. He chose to look like a fool...for you and for me and He stayed on that cross and appeared to not be Who He had claimed to be. And why? Because if He had not, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we? But more than that, we would still be dead in our sins, without hope of salvation and eternal life.

So along with that question from Saturday's game, Sunday's message gave even more depth to what I was questioning in myself. The message was really encouraging and lifted my gaze upward. Our pastor talked about Christ's sacrifice and what it entailed. A couple points that really stuck out to me from the message were:

1: In the middle of trials, don't leave the cross. Pick up the cross, don't discard it. The cross was the way to victory for us through Christ's sacrifice and still is. I personally have not been picking up my cross as I should have been lately. I've been using an ongoing trial (and a move) as an excuse to not be "passionate" for God, so as to not suffer more and to make things easier on my flesh. I was convicted to hold that cross close and embrace it again as an old, dear friend.

2: The cross is freedom. That's the opposite of what our minds tell us, isn't it? But it's the truth. The cross is a daily choice, which means freedom is a choice as well. The cross = freedom. You want freedom? Pick up your cross and follow after Jesus!

Here's some questions that Saturday's ballgame and Sunday's message have caused me to ask myself: Am I cheering for God's will in my life, even if it's not what I would choose? Am I standing up for His truth, even if the crowd is abandoning it? Am I applauding what is holy and righteous, even though it makes a conversation uncomfortable? Am I making a fool of myself for God's glory and kingdom, even if it makes me unpopular?

Friends, let's live for the Lord the same way He died for us: passionately!

Rejoicing in Christ,

Adriel