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their passion to things because it is easier to deal with things than with people. After all, things don't talk back or disagree with you.

Even in church, people can become enthused about programs and claim victory when an event has a good turnout and everyone goes home happy. But as soon as human relationships start to get deeper, friction ensues almost inevitably. Consequently, even in churches where everyone is greeted warmly at the door, superficiality can rule the day. This is because all people are sinners, and even "born again" Christians don't lose this attribute when they emerge from the other side of the baptismal tank.

I think God allows many Christians to agonize with unshakable habits, or besetting sins to teach us a lesson about forgiveness. Some refer to it euphemistically as their "thorn in the flesh". God is showing us how deeply He loves us by how much and often He is willing to see past our faults, and yet we are not able to do the same with those around us, including those we call brothers and sisters.

Christ taught a parable about a lord who forgave a slave his debt, but that slave turned around and was unwilling to do the same for someone who owed him money. Many Christians like to refer to this parable as an example of how we need to forgive, and still the principle does not truly sink in. Despite their having forgiven fellow-Christians of their transgressions against them, they walk around with an attitude suggestive of the fact that they've forgiven, but not forgotten.

People get their feathers ruffled and decide that it's best not to become too deeply involved in other people's lives because it's easier that way. They become standoffish and then wonder why their children think they're hypocritical. In the process, they never really come to truly understand the kind of passionate love God has towards them through Christ, and the kind of passion He wants us all to have towards Him and one another.

Further reflection has led me to believe that Christians have also lost their passion because they have lost sight of the life and death struggle God tells us life is about. We are told that there are only two options in life which are life and death. Life is found in and through Christ while death is found in all other life and lifestyle choices. But do Christians take this teaching seriously and live a life of passion and conviction knowing that their friends and neighbors depend on them to see the light?

Until Christians can get to the point in their everyday life where others can say "behold how they love one another", they will not have arrived to where God would have them to be. It's time we stopped playing church and started to live a life of conviction passionately.

Living every day with passion does not mean having a continually heightened awareness when it comes to food, music, sports, cars, or sex. It means loving people the way God loves us. That implies caring and going out of our way to show love for people when they are lovable and even when they're not. It means not being afraid of others and not starting to cringe as soon as we see certain people at a distance. Ultimately, it means allowing God to overflow our hearts with such love that it doesn't even matter whether people return our love. We extend it to them anyway, sometimes in little acts of kindness, sometimes in genuine and unbridled sacrifice.

Everyone's heard about the Passion OF Christ. Now those who call themselves Christians need to live with passion FOR Christ. Those who talk of Holy Wars are frauds and misrepresent Christ. True Christians fight the good fight by emulating Christ's love and compassion every day.

Learn more about this author, Bohdan Rewko (Bo of T.O.).
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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