Passion.
Perhaps you are one of the
fortunate few who experiences the thrill of something immediately coming to mind
as you read this word.
Yes. I have known this.
An
INTENSE
DRIVING
OVERPOWERING
feeling or emotion that
prevents reflection.
Passion, in its very
definition, annihilates reason and suppresses caution.
Indeed I have a passion for
...
Fill in the blank.
Unfortunately for me, my
attempt to replace the "dot, dot, dot" returned void. The only
comfort upon this realization was the feasible assumption I was not alone. Look
around. Passionless people surround us.
Few notice and even fewer
care.
But not all.
No, not all.
Why?
PASSION IS CONTAGIOUS.
Donald Miller, the author of
Blue Like Jazz, used to hate jazz music. But then, one day, he watched a
street performer play jazz music for forty-five minutes. The musician didn't
open his eyes once. After that day, he loved jazz. He concluded that sometimes
it takes watching someone love something to love it yourself.
I have a "Donald
Miller" experience every time I see a dancer perform. It stirs something
in me. There is something powerful, almost mesmerizing, in dance. If a heart of
passion is being expressed in movement, I have a difficult time remaining in my
seat. My heart wants whatever it is the dancer has managed to find.
But longing for a passion is not
the equivalent of passion itself.
While a passionate person stirs a
desire for passion, man is rarely able to instill
passion secure enough in a heart to ignite a movement.
There is a disconnect. A
disconnect between our desire and our reality.
"WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS IS
THE IMAGE OF PASSION, NOT PASSION ITSELF."
-Roland Barthes
Why?
Let us look to Jesus's definition
of passion.
Acts 1:3
To
whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many
infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God.
Passion- also
translated: suffering or enduring; specifically referenced the time
period between the Last Supper and the Cross.
This was the passion of the
Christ.
For years, "passion"
was referring to the suffering and martyrdom of the saints. Then in the 1580s,
a sense of sexual love was first attested to in the meaning of passion. And by
the 1630s, passion simply pertained to strong liking, enthusiasm and
predilection towards something.
I can just hear what must be
running through the readers mind as he reads this.
Ok, the word means something
different now. Why go back to its original meaning?
Because... my question is: has
the meaning of the word really changed? Or is it our understanding that's
shifted?
You see, I believe we sell
ourselves short when we equate passion with happiness. Look again at the
descriptions and definitions of passion. Happiness may at times be a small part of the picture, but it's not the complete picture.
How many wrong notes sounded out
before the street musician was able to play without ceasing with his eyes
closed? How much time, pain, and effort went into the "effortless"
dance routine?
ENDURING.
Yes, this is the key.
The reason we live passionless lives
is because we refuse to bear the weight.
The quote is worth repeating:
"WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS IS
THE IMAGE OF PASSION, NOT PASSION ITSELF."
And this is my question:
Assuming passion is contagious,
if the result of Christ's passion was the salvation of our souls, what could
this mean for believers who are willing to endure?
