We should seek for passionate Christianity, not passive Christianity. God has enough passive Christians with whom He must deal. But the passionate Christians are the ones who will accomplish great things for the kingdom.

To be passive means one is:

• enduring or submitting without resistance,
• inactive; not reacting visibly,
• being acted upon, rather than acting upon.

To be passive is not necessarily a bad thing. Obviously our attitude toward God must be passive...i.e., we submit to God without resistance, and allow Him to act upon us.

But our attitude for God must be passionate. By being passionate we will be able to take on the gates of hell itself as God leads us from victory to victory.

Passionate people are powerful people. History shows us that nations have been moved by men and women of passion—for good or evil.

In the right setting, passion can be a glorious motivator for positive change, such as Abraham Lincoln's attempts to end slavery and hold the Union together at all costs.

In the wrong setting, however, passion can lead to disaster. Have you ever seen the old newsreels of Adolf Hitler giving a speech?

The man might have been a monster, but he knew the art of passion to inflame a crowd and make them his willing subjects—and plunge the world into war.

Passion for God is more than an emotional experience—it is a relational one. It is an ever-present reality based upon our knowing Jesus.

If passion was simply an emotional reaction to God, there would be down times when our passion would fizzle out. But we know that we can be completely drained of physical and spiritual strength yet still have a passion for God based upon the truth of our relationship with Him.

Passion is maintained by faith, not feelings. The passion of God delivered to us by the Holy Spirit can give us the ability to accomplish tremendous things.

Source: Pacesetters: Setting the Standard by Benny Perez
Excerpt permission granted by WinePress Publishing