Passion has to do with having intense feelings for or conviction about something.  While we should reject the hysteria of the Pentecostal denominations, we must not lay aside emotions altogether when it comes to following Christ.  Spiritual apathy or indifference is a real and present danger to all of us.

If we lose our passion for Christ and His cause, we will be in trouble.  The one rebuke that Jesus had for the church at Ephesus was that they left their first love, or as the ESV puts it, they abandoned the love they had at first (Revelation 2:4).  In other words, they lost their passion for Christ.  They continued to do the right things outwardly, such as putting false apostles to the test and not growing weary of doing the work of the Lord (vers. 2-3), but their zeal for Christ was gone.

Do you still serve Christ with passion?  Do you have strong feelings for the Lord and His cause, or are your strongest feelings reserved for worldly things like your favorite sports team?  Isn’t it amazing how some in the church can feel so strongly about worldly things like politics or sports, but have very little passion for Bible study and attending worship services?  There is nothing that we should feel more passionate about than Christ.

Speaking of Christ, He demonstrated great emotion when He was here on earth.  When His friend Lazarus died, the Bible tells us that He wept (John 11:35).  He wept because He loved Lazarus so much (ver. 36).  Paul showed His passion for the cause of Christ, and the love He had for brethren when he gave a farewell speech to the elders of the church at Ephesus.  Knowing that some of them would give in to false teachers, he admonished them with tears (Acts 20:31).

We cannot be completely emotion-free when it comes to the Lord, His work, and His people, and then say that we care.  Jesus once said, “Blessed are they that mourn…” (Matthew 5:4). 

Our passion for God and the cause of Christ can be demonstrated in more ways than one.  Not only should we be moved by sadness about some things, but some things should make us angry.  Jesus showed righteous indignation when He cleansed the temple of the money changers (John 2:13-17).  Paul was so perturbed by the false prophet, Elymas, that he, being full of the Spirit, called him a “son of the devil,” and temporarily blinded him (Acts 13:6-12).

Another emotion that we should all constantly feel is joy.  Paul simply said, “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).  If salvation and the hope of heaven do not move us, we know that spiritual indifference has gotten the best of us.

Do you still demonstrate passion for the things of God? Let’s not allow ourselves to be overcome by apathy.  Leaving our first love, that is, losing a zeal for Christ and His cause, can often be the first step toward apostasy.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.