Dangerous Faith: What’s Your Passion?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3

Zach Hunter is 17 years old, and he’s a modern day abolitionist. He began the Loose Change to Loosen Chains initiative (LC2LC) to help end slavery in our world. (By the way, more people were enslaved  in 2007 than were enslaved in all the years of the transatlantic slave trade combined!) He has also written a book on the subject entitled Be the Change. Check out this video about him from a few years ago. Or, for a more updated look at other books Zach has written and what he is up to these days, go to www.zachhunter.me.

Pretty cool huh? Zach seems like a great kid, and only seventeen, but there’s really nothing - and I repeat nothing - extraordinary about him. He just followed his heart and his passion. That’s all. Zach was a shy twelve year old when the Lord put this passion, or should I say compassion, on his heart. He was no different than any other kid, so why is Zach speaking to stadiums of people about ending slavery when most other kids his age are trying to perfect their "Halo" skills?

The difference is that Zach decided to act on the compassion that he felt for these people. He decided to follow that desire, that passion that he felt rising up inside him instead of stifling it like most of us do. Why do we do that anyway? We stifle it because passion and compassion are dangerous emotions. They push us outside of our comfort zone. They threaten to change not just other parts of the world but our little part of the world too. We see this in life of Jesus. Constantly in the gospels we read that Jesus was moved by compassion to act. He healed the sick and fed the multitudes. He restored sight to the blind and healed leprosy all because He had compassion on people. Ultimately His compassion moved Him to give up even His own life for you and for me.

This is the kind of life that you and I are called to live. We are called to enter into other people's suffering (like Christ did) and bring the joy and the freedom of the Lord along with us. We are called to run to the dark places of the world and shine the light of the Gospel into the hearts of those who have no hope. So like the author of Hebrews I implore you to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and… run with perseverance the race marked out for [you].” In order to do that, we have to beat our bodies into submission (I Corinthians 9:27) and take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). We have to have the courage to take a risk and act on our passion.

So I ask you, what’s your passion? There are many, many great needs in our world today, and certainly no single person can undertake to eradicate them all. And I don’t think that the Lord expects you to eradicate them all by yourself, but maybe you can help make a dent in a handful of them. Don't wait for God to drop a billboard sign on your head telling you to defend the widows, orphans, helpless and weak. He has already told you to do that (check out Psalm 82:3-4 and James 1:27). We don’t have to be “called” in some special and super personal sense. This burden belongs to all of us as Christians because the Bible tells us it does. All we need to do is follow our God-given compassion and passion. So I ask again, what’s your passion? What need in our world tugs at your heart? What need is tugging at your heart even now?

  

For further reading this week…

• I Corinthians 9:24-27: Beat our bodies into submission.
• Revelation 3:14-22: God hates a lack of passion when it comes to obeying Him.       
• Matthew 14:14, Matthew 15:32, Matthew 20:34, and Mark 1:41: Check out how Jesus was moved to act by his compassion.
• Psalm 82:3-4 and James 1:27: We are commanded to care for the weak.