I have heard people talking about their past. Their evil bad old days. They are not like that anymore, no they found the Lord, but while you are hearing the story (or testimony), the tale of the bad old days, starts to sound like the best days of their lives. Told with enthusiasm, the evil past has more passion in it than the tame almost timid tale of the present.
"Yes, I'm a changed person now."
Yeah, and it sounds like they are about ready to die. Once a tiger, and now a neutered house cat.
On that subject, all I can say is that I hope no one ever thinks that I sound like that. If I ever do, slap me. Today: these are the best days of my life, these are my glory days. Hopefully about to be followed by even greater glory. The past was mostly just wasted time.
So do the tales of bad boys and girls sound like fun and glory compared to the boring tales of saints? Do Christians sometimes sound like neuterers? But once we were the real thing: real alley cats, true Tomcats.
Is the glory to be found in the sin and not the salvation?
True 
Comments (16)
I feel like there are fireworks inside me when I think about Jesus and the church. I hope that feeling never goes away and I hope people never stop ceasing those flashes in my eyes when we talk.
For me, not a chance. Since Jesus became my salvation, I love more deeply. My heartfelt emotions for so many aspects of this world run far deeper than they ever did. It is as if the past was lived through emotional filters, where every experience I had was designed in a very poor attempt to truly "FEEL" anything at all. The best I can describe my daily feelings now is in relation to those moments when I first became a new mother. That same intense joy, now fills every day of my life. Even through the trials, simply knowing I am not alone, and that someone cares so intimately for me that they feel my every tear, brings me a joy that would "in the good old days" have been simply unfathomable.
I'd say that for the first time in my life I am actually living and very much alive. Nothing neutered about me!
Thank you Jesus! To you ALL the glory!
No, I was a numb and often emotionless person who was afraid to try new things before God changed me. Now I'm passionate about Him and about the things I love to do and experience, and I can have strong emotions of happiness and sadness and affection and joy like I didn't have before when I was walled off and depressed. I was a much less passionate person before God's healing touch in my heart.
No way. The passion was part of my personality and I brought that with me. If anything I became more passionate because my faith is so important to me.
However, I have learned more appropriate channels for my passion than I had as a young teenager.
I think we need to be careful about "glorifying" the past before we were saved. Maybe the best way to present our unsaved past is to tell how that past hurt us & sharing how much Jesus saved us.
The comments before mine express their passion for Jesus Christ so beautifully. It is knowing Jesus - having a relationship with Him that brings the passion to our lives, a passion to glorify Him & to live to please Him (who did so much for us), to share what He has done for us & can do for "whosoever" wants to receive Jesus savingly.
That's a good point. I think that's why a lot of the Christians I know don't really focus on their past...sure, they learn from their mistakes, but they don't talk about it all the time. Since then it would be almost like they're bragging about their past.
A Christian's testimony is a difficult thing to critique, but I see your point. I won't deny that I was deceived into thinking that I was having the time of my life when I was still living for the world; but once I truly made the decision to follow Christ, the idea of participating in the things I used to often make me cringe. It's amazing how God can help you stay clean, especially when you were so dirty before Him.
Well, I think a lot of Christians view certain things as sin or evil, when they really aren't... at all. Like, I know Christians who want to spend a few years being adventurous and going to Europe and traveling the world. Then there are other Christians who think they are being selfish or not looking for God's true calling in their lives and wasting time away or being irresponsible for wanting to do that. I'm definitely in the first category I described. God gave us a whole big world to explore. Through that we find all kinds of ways we can serve Him that are inside His will for us as His children. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that Christians think we are supposed to spend our lives beating the passion for adventure out of ourselves. And I think that's wrong.
hey... do u attend a Mars Hil Church?!
Hmm... I think some of my friends might think I sounded like I had more fun before coming to know the Lord. BUT that is only because those days were also my last single days. So when my friends and I talk about missing the days when we had no husbands and children, those days were also my "rebellious" days. Good food for thought, though. Maybe I need to re-think how I talk about those days!
I've been a Christian my whole life...so I haven't ever known another life or passion. I'm glad of that, too.
I wouldn't say it's "losing" that passion once we become Christians. More like a change of passion into godly things.
The past may sound more glorified perhaps because the sins were native to our sinful flesh, whereas after we become Christians, we spend the rest of our lives fighting our flesh rather than gratifiying it.
Good observation and good question put forth. I'm a Buddhist. From the buddhist perspective we can't extinguish our desires and indeed our desires are what can propel us toward a true happiness and wisdom. Key to this is transforming our selfish desires into a desire to help others. I find that I feel my best when I help others in some way as opposed to being selfish about things. One way I view desire is as a tree that has the innate desire to grow. It can tell itself "I'm not going to grow because it's bad to grow" but the tree came into this world to be a tree. If as a seed it was able to get someone to cover it with a cinderblock in order to stop it from growing, it would none the less grow but a bit crooked. I believe we are here to do things unique to our individual karma (translate karma as "as ye sow, so shall ye reap"). The Buddhism I practice offers a way of tranforming earthly desires into enlightenment (translate enlightenment as "the kingdom of Heaven is within"). Some people assume a religion and become rigid and even hateful toward others who continue to enjoy life differently from them and perhaps they are the ones you observe as "a neutered house cat". At some point, in this life or another (Buddhism says our lives are reborn) one becomes so frustrated and unhappy living the neutered house cat life that we eventually change our course and try another way. Just wanted to share this from a Buddhist perspective. Respect and my best to all of you wonderful people!
No, I was not anywhere near as passionate as a dirty rotten sinner, as I am now ! No comparison what-so-ever !!!
I lived for one thing only, and that was to make money, to try and hold my horrible marriage together, trying to prove my dear Mom wrong, that marrying a Athiest wasn't all that bad, maybe eventually I'd get him converted !?!?!
NOT !!!!
It came to the point where I nearly lost my life ! Breaking my Mothers heart, and I'm sure breaking Christs heart, as He had such wonderful plans for me........but finally I crawled back to Him, begging forgiveness, and absolutely nothing more than that !
Was my past life better you ask ? NO WAY ! It was the fast way to Hell, by working full time for Satan ! That's what it was, nothing else but that !!!
No. I was always surrounded by Christianity, going to church every Sunday, etc. But I think I'm more passionate because of the life I want and choose for myself... etc. I'm still a kid, so I have more to explore. But if Jesus was a real man of the past, I think he was great for his teachings that I'm sure a lot know of..., but I also find a lot of other people whom I think are also just as great or even better... but just the same.. having passion.. hope... love.. understanding.. those who give so much to so many, which is even greater. So no, Christianity did not bring about my passion, namely others have.
I think having Christ in my life makes me more passionate. My energy is not scattered now in places that waste my time. I have lost none of my fierceness. Rawr!
It makes me sad when people sound like they have lost their vigor when they "got religious." It makes it sound like God wants all his people to be "tame" and boring. I think that has more to do with their ideas of what being "religious" means than what God intended for us.
For me, more Jesus means more zest and joy.