Passionate Existence

A question I've been asking myself a lot lately is if I'm passionate enough, and passionate about the right things. Really, passion is caring a lot about something. Being willing to go to great lengths for whatever it is you're passionate about. Make sacrifices and work hard and - this is key - get other people on board. While it's good to be a lighted candle, igniting a flame in others can be even more powerful. 

Recently, I've been doing a study in the Bible about zeal, passion, and calling. It's clear what the greatest commandment that Jesus gave us is: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Jesus wants His people to love Him and serve Him and obey Him. Love Him wholeheartedly, relentlessly, and with abandon; serve Him joyfully with everything we have; and obey Him unquestioningly and devotedly. But what does this look like every day?

King David wrote in Psalm 73:25-26, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." 

Paul the Apostle proclaimed, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). And in Romans 12:11, he says, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

In Deuteronomy 4:29 is the promise, "But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul."

This afternoon I roamed a quiet forest with some friends. It was so still that it felt like intrusion to explore. In this strange forest were several woebegone structures that must have been homes or sheds years ago. Now they're empty, dilapidated, and unused. All we found was creaking doors and shattered glass. 

I don't want live life my own way and end up empty and unused. I want my heart to be moved by what moves God. I want to be passionate about what He is passionate about. I want to think eternally, and fix my eyes on Him. I want to be a tool in the hands of the Master. In the words of a friend, if we're honest, what other way is there to live?

Smallness

 Lately I've been thinking about the brevity of time and suspension of countless stories of individuals throughout history. I love that we have stories, we are stories. I love that there are people all around us whose lives and legacies I will never know, both past and present. 

It gives a healthy feeling of smallness.

 I catch eyes with strangers in the store or stand with them in line or pass them in the halls, but don't know what lives they lead. Past faces and laughter that inhabited the same places were once very vibrant and real. I get this sense of interconnectedness with the people around me and the stories of the past. We're all humans with more things in common than not. 

I know that some of these stories would break my heart. 

People who are hurting and broken and needy, desperate for a way out but not believing it exists. 

So much heart pain and soul pain. 

Whatever I do with the rest of my life, I want it to involve serving people and helping them find a way. There is always a way, The Way. There is an answer to everything, even though we may never find the answer in this life. 

My desire is to inspire gifted and innovative thinkers to use their talents to improve the lives of the millions of suffering and underprivileged around the world. I believe that it would be a powerful thing if artists, designers, architects, musicians, engineers, etc. used their skills to contribute to finding solutions for global needs - serving the poor, combating poverty and hunger, bringing innovative and simple medical insights to the unreached villages. 

We have been blessed to bless others.

 I've been having lots of good conversations about the kingdom, calling, and channeling vision over coffee lately. I just love connecting with people and being authentic and raw with each other, sharing our hearts and seeing what God is doing in each other's lives. In the midst of life at its messiest and busiest, it is so important to stay focused on what matters for eternity.

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" - Micah 6:8