Passion is the most attractive aspect of our faith to an unbeliever. There are many religions and beliefs in the world today, many of which tell people that they have the truth or that truth is relative. Many unbelievers, however, cannot convincingly discern between truth and non-truth. Yet one thing we ALL share in common is our recognition of passion. As an example, suppose you are talking to a friend that just ate at a restaurant you’ve considered trying. You then ask if they liked the food or the service and their response was negative. Would you eat at that restaurant or would you be dissuaded? And why is that? Because the best source in the world is from someone who has experienced it.
If people look at our lives … those of us who proclaim, follow, and are experiencing Christ … and see us bored with Jesus by living despondent, apathetic, and lukewarm lives … do you believe people are going to stand in line to get that? Jesus said they’ll know you’re my disciples by your passion for one another (John 13:35) because passionate love is the hallmark of God himself. God is love … and not just love, but passionate love. Our God is a God of passion that loves us so much that He came down from heaven and took our place on the cross so that we could be reunited in a passionate, joyful relationship with Him. He is worthy of our passion. He’s worthy of our love and He’s worthy of first place!
You don’t love me or each other as you did at first … Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. // Revelation 2