Passion

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me on magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you

I first heard the words to "One Pure and Holy Passion" about seven years ago as a bright eyed college student, full of both enthusiasm to know and worship intimately with God and a realization of strongholds in my life that threatened the ability to do just that. In countless ways, this song captured the depths of my situation and became my cry to God.

My mother has often described me as a passionate person. If I am in something, I am in it with my whole heart. My emotions for love and hate can be explosive and electrifying. If I discover a new interest, it does not take long for me to be a full fledged passionate fan. For instance, I had never held any interest in NASCAR. If anything, I found the "sport" to be redneck and pointless. Yet through environmental changes in my life and the presence of some NASCAR fans that I found myself to be rather fond of, I took an impressive interest. "Boogity Boogity!"

While I do not have the years of following the sport as my dear sweet husband, even he is quick to tell you that it is possible that I become more passionate about seeing certain drivers win and certain drivers lose than fans of many years. Why? It's my nature to be passionate! Ask anyone who has ever witnessed me watch a football game or heard me talk about a particular brand of clothes, guitars, or coffee and they will testify to this.

I'm not sure what happened between the time I was a bright eyed college student and today, but I find myself struggling more and more with a lack of passion for that sweet intimate relationship I once sought... well, passionately. Even then, when I realized there were strongholds and other passions that were not pure and were empty, pale, and poor in comparison to a passion for Christ, I still held a pursuit that seems in some ways to have faded these last seven years.

Why is it so easy to be passionate about a sports team or pursuing earthly treasures and yet so hard at times to be passionate about our prayer life and being obedient to God's word? The lyrics of this praise song have once again reminded me that all of these other passions are so empty and poor in comparison to what a passionate pursuit of God provides.

I want to be a Jesus aficionado, a sold out fan of His commands, and a disciple that follows hard after Him.