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?