Friday, 16 April 2010
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The Passion of Jesus: Do You Have It?
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “passion”? A kissing couple? A sexual encounter? A worthy cause or major interest? How about Jesus nailed to the cross?
On Good Friday, I watched Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” with the “Biblical footnotes” feature on. One that popped up early in the movie said this:
“The word ‘passion’ is taken from the Latin for ‘suffering,’ but it has also come to mean profound and transcendent love.”
This stuck with me for the rest of the movie. All I was thinking was, “He had this much passion for us—for me! He loved me so much, He was willing to suffer and die that I might be saved.”
We have so cheapened passion. It is equated with romance and sex now. “That was a passionate kiss,” we say of a bride and groom at their wedding. “Volunteering is one of my passions,” some of us would say.
But would we say such things if we knew what “passion” really meant? Would you suffer for that interest or cause? Is that kiss evidence of unconditional love?
“A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her…” (Eph. 5:25).
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13).
Those verses are much weightier and demanding to me now. I am to love others so much, I would be willing to suffer and die for them. It suddenly seems daunting, impossible.
My Dad once said that he thought if he was in Jesus’ shoes, dying would have been the easy part. It was the suffering that he would have had trouble with. Judas’ betrayal; the abuse by the soldiers; the animosity of the Sanhedrin; the hatred of his people; abandonment by the disciples; the flogging; carrying the cross; being crucified; and finally, God the Father turning away from Him.
Would you suffer so that others’ needs and wants could be met? Would you die for your cause? Jesus did, and He wants us to do the same.
Do you have the passion of Jesus? What can we do to be more passionate about Christ?
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About the Author
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- From: The_messenjah777@xanga
- Name: Nate
- Location: Warsaw, Indiana, United States
- About Me: Scribe. Warrior. Nerd. All of the above. Scribe - I am a writer. Story is my life. I graduated from TUFW with degree in professional writing so I could spend my life telling stories with my pen, my mouth, and my life. I believe in the power of story and that each of our lives are an epic that God is helping us write. Like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien before me, I believe God speaks to humans through story. I hope my own stories can do the same. Warrior - Life is a battle, and I intend to keep fighting the good fight, as the Apostle Paul said. I will fight for my God, my friends and family, and my beliefs. I can be a loyal friend or a worst enemy. Thankfully, it takes a lot to get on my bad side. Nerd - I enjoy all things science fiction, fantasy, video games, comic books, etc. My mind is always entertaining "what if's" and other strange ideas. I've always known I wasn't normal (but then again, "normal" is a relative term).
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Comments (4)
People around me condemn passion, but I alone uphold it. The flames of passion, pointed towards the right direction, has the power to make the world a better place.
I do not, and I am willing to admit this. I try and work on this issue with myself, and with God. But, I can only pray that He helps me to realize it someday.
I finally realized that God gives me the ability even to love Him. So I pray that He would instill in me a passion for Him and let me be constantly reminded of His love for me. I'm thinking that if we truly could understand how much love He has for us, then being passionate about Him would be so much easier. But alas, we are fallen and human, and we can only rely on Him to make us faithful and passionate.
watched that movie just today... not sure why, just felt like it.
i am learning the Passion ways. sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's plain scary, but this is what we were called to do and with Him everything is possible.
so, live and learn.
never knew about the etymology of the word passion. thanks for sharing that!