PASSION IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE

One of the greatest hindrances to the fulfilment of the Great Commission I belie
ve is the lack or paucity of believers who are truly passionate about their fait
h. Sometimes the way we behave towards the things of God and the church leaves
much to be desired.
You have Christians who will not move a finger to offer any service in the churc
h, Christians who will not talk to one lost soul for a whole year or more, and t
here are those who, with all their financial resources, have never bothered to p
ut any substantial investment in the building of the kingdom.
While we plod along with this spirit of apathy, Islamic militants are investing
all their talents, time, money and their very lives to propagate the claims of I
slam and build mosques at every available place. Not that they even have any li
fe saving message, yet they have given their all. While we pussy-foot with our
faith and are so timid about sharing, these militants are forming long queues in
the Middle East registering to become suicide bombers in the cause of their rel
igion. It took a few such militants to bring America to crisis on September 11.
They knew they were going to die, but they were so passionate about it they ca
red not for themselves.
It looks like they are rather living the message of Christ in which he calls us
to take up our crosses and not attempt to save our lives [Luke 17:33]. The ques
tion is why is this so?
I believe it is just because we are not passionate about the one who shed his bl
ood and died for us on Calvary. We love to "save our lives". In the end, we ar
e losing it, just like Jesus said. We are not able to achieve the things for wh
ich we desert the kingdom and we are losing our liberties to people of other fai
ths who are intent on forcing us to live the way they want. The question then i
s how do we reverse this situation?
To answer this I will quote George Barna, President of the Barna Research Group
in California: The church has lost its place at the table of cultural influence.
Can we restore the impact of the church through more events and buildings? No.
It will take zealots for Christ individuals who are intractably devoted to kno
wing, loving, and serving Him with all their heart, mind, strength, and soul if
we are to transform our world . How do we do this? I believe is by making disci
ples who what they believe, why they believe and are willing to sacrifice everyt
hing, even their lives to the cause of Christ. Hear Barna again: we must use thei
r (new converts) new commitments to Christ as a launching pad for a lifelong que
st to become individuals who are completely sold out emotionally, intellectually
, physically, spiritually - to the son of God . In his words, there is a better
strategy: Ignite peoples passion for God and get out of their way . In his opinion
, when people are discipled and are single minded in their devotion to God, their
commitment to His ways and His principles become deeper and much more intense th
e peripherals dont matter as much. Theyll attend activities at times that are not
optimally convenient because the most important reality is to experience Gods pr
esence. They will sacrifice more of their hard-earned money for the purposes of
ministry because they recognize that they are stewards, not owners. They will
gladly share their faith in Christ with nonbelievers because they understand the
ir responsibility to other people and to God and because they simply cannot cont
ain their own excitement about the privilege of relating to God .
I believe that when apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers become
passionate like this about Christ and His kingdom, and others with gifts like g
iving, serving, [Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31], music, administrations e
tc. also become that passionate, the church will become the unconquerable force
it truly is, and like the church of the first century, we will conquer every ton
gue, tribe, and nation with the love of the gospel of Christ.