Pure Passion

Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; therefore be zealous and repent.

Passion is such an amazing word. According to dictionary.com, it means "any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling." Perhaps that is why it has come to be the word that encapsulates the sacrificial love of the God-Man Christ Jesus.

When I was growing up, God and passion were rarely synonymous. As a kid, I would attend Sunday morning mass from time to time whenever my parents would take me and my brother. It was probably the most grueling sixty minutes that I had to endure. The only thing more arduous was this thing called "Sunday School." While some people think of snacks, games and coloring pages when they hear of Sunday School, this was not my notion when the words were combined. For me it literally meant "School on Sunday" (it was a natural thought when ours was typically in sync with the regular school year). What kid in his right mind would want to go to school on a Sunday? I had just finished going to school five out of seven days. Why would I want to add an additional day with an additional topic? Especially when our teacher, Sister Mary, always made it a priority for her students to understand this "schooling" was serious business. Memorizing prayers, beatitudes, and scripture were the rules of the day. Needless to say, church was not of much interest to me.

Choose to TWEET, but don't be a TWIT

I was meeting with a group of guys from the small group that I attend the other day. We were discussing the internet, blogs, and twitter. I pointed out the obvious, "If a person on Twitter communicates by tweeting, what do we call a person who tweets?" After several blank stares, I responded to my own question with "a twit." Cheesy... I know. But some of us like cheese. And the more intentional, the better. But this brings me to a question, "Are you a twit?"

Faith Like The King

As a child, I was always intrigued by the noble understanding of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Living in a child-like fantastic world, this legend was filled with integrity, justice, chivalry, compassion and noble strength.  All the while the principles echoed in my soul. I dreamed of becoming a part of something so valuable that I would die for it. I longed to defend something.  Something bigger than myself.  Soon blocks of wood and sticks became swords. My brother and I would recruit our friends in the neighborhood to construct weapons to defend this kingdom from an onslaught of hordes. These hordes were bigger and wicked than you could ever imagine.  But we were the good guys.  Willing to do what was right and honorable.  The biggest argument between us often was who would represent the King and have the honor of wielding Excalibur (Arthur's renowned sword). Afterall, when Excalibur came on the scene no one could resist its might.  Whatever it took, we would defend the honor of the kingdom. If that meant going down fighting... so be it. But be rest assured, the kingdom would continue to stand.  Arthur and the knights were my heroes. To be like Arthur was my dream. To be like the King is what I desired. As I grew up, I put away the play swords, but the echo in my soul never left. This was evidenced by my choices in movies and my avid interest in history.