Passion

As you know, the olympics have been going on for the past week. The theme for these olympics, is "Passion Lives Here." You have seen the falls, and disappointment of the athletes. I have noticed how much energy and devotion that they have for their sport. I have noticed how much passion that they have devoted to their sport. They find their passion in doing good, and excelling to be the greatest athlete of the world. But I have a question for you, where does your passion live? Are you passionate about your ministry?

Passion is defined as a pervading spirit, ruling passion, master passion, fullness of heart, and flow of soul. In others words, it is how you show your love for something. These olympians show passion for their sport, just as Jesus showed passion for his people. Just as the athletes are radical for doing the twists, flips, and going high in the air, Jesus was a radical in the truest sense of the word.

He did not fit into the prefabricated mold of Messiah that the Jewish culure had prepared. He did not offer his backing to the established religious community. He showed no interest in influencing the politics of the day. Jesus was a radical from the time he was 12 and dared to go about his Father's business by questioning and instructing the rabbis in the temple (Luke 2:46-49).

In his revoluntionary style, Jesus spoke of a kingdom where God ruled as king. Jesus broke into history at a real point in time, died on a real cross, and left behind a real tomb. This was no last-ditch effort on God's part to save the world from its woes. This was his plan from the bringing his kingdom to earth. The cross and resurrection changed history; now we are pointed toward heaven.

Now here is the amazing part: we can live in this kingdom right now! The kingdom of God is not some far-off, distant, future realm. It is not a state of mind. It is not something we dream about or long for. We are in it! God's kingdom is a real place where we can walk and work and have relationships.

Here is yet another amazing thing about Jesus' announcement of this kingdom. The King wants to live with us!

Do you see how passionate God cares about you? He wants to live with you, and be your ministry. So, I have a few questions that I want you to ask your parents. Ask them what their ministry is, and how passionate are they about their ministry. Let me know what they say because to be honest with you, you need to know what your parents ministry is because that reflects who you are, and what your ministry is.