PASSION – PART OF OUR MAKE UP
1. Passion -The Sparkplug of the Human Spirit
Sometimes we are prone to think that when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden and man lost his original estate, we actually lost everything we had from the image of God[i]. This is not so. The image of God is spiritual and man continues to be a spiritual being essentially. Romans 3:23 tells us “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. The word ‘short’ here means ‘to be inferior in power, influence and rank’. Our spiritual power, rank and influence diminished because of sin. Sin cut us off from our Source of power and influence - God. It does not mean man ceased to have a nature akin to the spiritual nature of God. The point here is that while we lost our place with God through “The Fall”, we maintained some aspects of His nature. Among the things maintained are the natural gifts, talents and the accompanying passions that make us excel in those gifts. Even those who are not born again through the salvation offered in Christ have natural gifts, talents and their own unique passions. Many non-believers in the Christian faith still perform excellently in many fields of human endeavour. Passion is part of our human constitution - a unique, non-physical ‘deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fingerprint’, which is part of the image we bear from the Heavenly Father. This Divine image is expressed through us in this life.
If there is any so-called ‘spark of God’ in the natural man, I believe it shows through our individual passions. We may refer to our passion as natural grace – grace to perform and achieve in the affairs of this life. German physicist and psychologist Georg C. Lichtenberg puts it like this; “Man is to be found in reason, God in the passions”. We can therefore refer to our passion as our ‘divine sparkplug’ that moves us on our way to success and fulfilment. This is because any true passion will fire your soul and cause you to do something. Just like a car cannot move without the spark - plug, it is hard for a man to get going in life without igniting himself through passion. By tapping into your passion, you release and deploy the immense potential of the human spirit for great works. Living out your passion is like releasing or unfettering the human spirit. Once the resources and potential of the human spirit are deployed, you are able to do things that defy the reasoning power of other humans. It becomes evident to all that this is a gift or talent from God.
2. Your Passion should point you to God
Our passions as human beings should make us aware of the God who puts these marvellous gifts in each of us. When we come to this realization, we would cease to use our passions to please ourselves, the world and the devil. We would rather submit ourselves to the One who created us in His own image and put this passion in our lives. We would also harness those very passions that drive us as tools to direct people to the One who bled to death on a cruel cross on Calvary in an act of supreme Passion.
For instance, Michael Jackson’s passion is music. Through his musical talent, he along with the other top pop stars like Whitney Houston, etc., influences the lives of millions of people in this world who want to fashion their lives after them. Their passion for music governs their charisma or the magnetic pull they hold over masses of people. People are prepared to pay any price to watch them perform, scream themselves hoarse and even do unspeakable things in their excitement.
Can you imagine what would happen if such people realize the passion running through them as God’s deposit in their lives and start to use it to spread the gospel instead of satisfying the flesh? We must however, not make the mistake, of demonizing every musician who does not sing gospel. The gift and passion they have for music is similar to those who sing gospel music. The only difference is that, while one group has chosen to submit their lives, gifts and passions to God, the other group, by their words and deeds, show that they owe no such allegiance to God or His Christ, but rather to themselves. Passion is a fundamental emotional desire but it is must operate from a Biblical perspective.
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