The word “passion” is NOT a dirty word. It is a shame that our society has used it only to describe lustful sexual desire. We usually associate the word passion with sex. In our society it describes “adult” entertainment (don’t even get me started on the “adult” term as it is used to describe porn…that’s a rant for another day). Surely, sexual desire or lust is a definition that can be used for the word passion. Even the bible teaches against the bad sort of passion (Romans 1:25-27). But it is not the only meaning of the word passion. In fact it’s not even the number one meaning.
Here is the #1 meaning of the word straight from the dictionary:
any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
A powerful compelling emotion is not wrong. In fact, what could be more right for us as follower’s of Jesus Christ. I have a passion to reach people who are far from God. I have an overwhelming emotion that drives me to bring a message of hope to those who desperately need to hear it.
There is a reason that movie a few years back was called the Passion of the Christ. He didn’t die for a passing whim, He died because of a powerful compelling emotion of love. Jesus set the bar for us, and he set it high. We should have a powerful compelling emotion of love for the people around us. John 13:34
