Passion

Who has made the biggest difference in your life?

As I look back on it I have had a chance to work with so many different people over the years.  Far and away the ones who have stood out to me are the ones that are passionate.  I really do like passionate people.  Even if our passions lead us in different directions to different conclusions I love it when people wholeheartedly live like they believe.

One of the people I would like to meet in heaven is from Luke 7.  It is the story that Jesus himself said will “always be remembered when his gospel is proclaimed”  It is the story of the sinful woman who risked rejection and scorn and sacrificed a great deal to just be in the presence of Jesus.  The woman stands in sharp contrast to the religous leader who keeps Jesus at arms length.

I have always been attracted to people who seem to want more than anything to be in the presence of Jesus.  They are almost always passionate and devoted people.   They also seem to have a love for others that can only come through a deep understanding of grace and God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ.  I have come across a few in my time and each time I find them so attractive and I hope their love for Jesus will rub off on me.

Jesus ends the moment with these two contrasting characters by saying:

“He who has been forgiven little love little, he who has been forgiven much loves much”

The irony of the line should not be missed.  The bigger sinner in the story is the religous leader who does not honor and embrace Christ, not the “sinful woman” who adores Him.  Something for us all to think about I would guess.

~ by pastormc on September 29, 2009.