One Pure and Holy Passion

Election season is over. Do you just breathe a sigh of relief? No more political ads. No more evening phone calls from candidate call lists. No more political Facebook statuses.

I can remember not too long ago that I was sitting in my den listening to political pundits spin their candidates' tax plans. Both of them were misrepresenting the facts and figures. I began to talk back to the TV as they presented their side saying, "That doesn't make sense. That can't be true..." things to that effect. I finally hit pause on the TV, grabbed a pen and paper and began scribbling. After several minutes of running figures of both tax plans, I looked back up at the face of the paused pundit and rather agitatedly said, "Did you not learn math as a kid? Do the American people really buy your misrepresentations? Doesn't anyone know how to do simple math anymore?" About that time, I realized that my 11-year-old son was staring up at me from his book. He looked rather bewildered at why I was yelling at the TV about math. I think he thought his Mom had completely lost it. I looked at him and said emphatically, "Ben, this is why you need to learn math!" Okay, so me screaming at the TV probably wasn't the best way to get my son excited about his math homework. But my actions boiled over from this passion inside that had to get to the "truth" behind the "spin".

I've thought in recent days about how passionate I was about that issue, and, quite honestly, it made me a little ashamed. It made me wonder, "Do I show that same kind of passion in pursuing my Lord?" "Am I ever complacent about my walk with God?" "Do I miss opportunities to share the Gospel because my passions are divided?" As I was pondering these questions, I came across lyrics from the song "One Pure and Holy Passion", written by Mark Altrogge:

Give me one pure and holy passion. Give me one magnificent obsession. Give me one glorious ambition for my life: To know and follow hard after You, to grow as Your disciple in the Truth. This world is empty, pale, and poor compared to knowing You, my Lord. Lead me on and I will run after You.

We are blessed to have a Pastor who pursues his one pure and holy passion: Jesus Christ. He is getting ready to lead us on a two-year journey through the Scriptures. Next week, we will begin "The Word of God for the People of God". As we prepare to embark upon this journey together, I am praying that God will continue to cultivate that passion in me. How much more important it is for me to digest the Scriptures and learn Biblical principles than test political pundits and yell at the TV! I can't change politics. But I can help change this world for Christ, one relationship at a time. I have never been more excited about being in the Word as I am today. I can't wait to see all that God has to teach us along our journey through the Word.

"Lord, Lead me on, and I will run after You!"

Jeremiah 15:16
"When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear Your name, O LORD God Almighty."