The New Year is upon us; are you ready to make this the year in which you will shine for Christ like never before? How will this year be different from the last? In what ways will you dedicate yourself to more fully serve God? What will you do differently to allow yourself to make the impact God created you to make on this world? These are huge questions, and if you haven’t started thinking about them until this moment, there’s a good chance that trying to answer them in the hours remaining in this year will seem more than just a little bit daunting.
I’ve got good news for you; there is one key that will allow you to definitively answer all of the questions above. If you will do this one thing, your next year will be the most effective ever for the Kingdom, and your life will be forever changed. The simple answer is to so devote yourself to God that nothing else in this world will matter to you. When your passion for God becomes so intense that it burns away the selfishness and greed in your life, you cannot help but stand out for Jesus. People will look at your life and desire what it is you have. When we become so passionate about Jesus Christ that all else fades, then only the goodness of God will remain.
A person with unstoppable passion for the mission of Jesus will find their lives turned upside down in ways they never imagined. You will be changed; you will become fiercely devoted to studying and sharing God’s Word; you will let nothing stand in the way of loving and serving others. When you become intensely passionate for the truth found only in Jesus, your life will be radically changed forever.
So how does one acquire such a passion? You love Jesus and want to serve Him, but perhaps your heart doesn’t burn the way I describe it above. There is no magic formula to acquiring passion. It must come from deep within. You will find it when you devote yourself to studying His word, to talking with God through prayer and asking Him to break your heart with the very things that break His. Be careful of the things you watch, the music you listen to and the people with whom you associate. Everything you allow into your mind affects and dictates your passion. As you restrict your senses to that which is pleasing to God, you will find yourself drawn ever closer to Him. You will develop zeal and a passion for His ways alone.
Will this be the moment that you take a stand and begin to say “no” to the pull of the culture and the materialism that keeps you from fully devoting your life to God? I’m not talking about a New Year’s resolution; I’m speaking of developing a lifelong passion. This can’t be something you commit to in January and leave behind in February. If you want to change your world for the better, to impact those around you with the love of Christ, it’s time to lay it all down and develop a passion for His mission that will not be denied or thwarted. We need to stand out; we are called to be different. We need an unstoppable passion for our Savior and King. This is your moment. This is your time. The world is waiting…