I had an interesting conversation with a couple people last night whom I don't know. It was via Facebook regarding a comment a mutual friend posted. This mutual friend quoted AW Tozer: “We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low. We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the things of the Spirit is all but gone… [We] have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost.”
-AW Tozer (Of God & Men, 1960)
I felt I must respond because that is exactly where I am these days, and really the reason why I wanted to start this blog. I resonated with AW Tozer. My response was brief, but seemed to trigger some strong feelings: "Even Christians have succumb to manufacturing spirituality when all we really need is to have true passion for Him."
It wasn't long before I received a direct response to what I thought was a pretty cut-and-dry statement. I mean, how could someone argue with Tozer's quote and my little response? A good thing is that it caused me to evaluate my own beliefs and ask the Lord if I am off in my thinking. Here are two that came back-to-back and the discussion that followed:
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Se: Forgive me, but all you guys talking about "all we need is passion for Him" and the like: that's what the Tozer quote is about. What in the world does that even mean?
To: Se: thanks. We Christians often say things without thinking them through. Passion is, of course, something that comes and goes and ebbs and flows. It may be a good starting point, but it certainly can't be all we need. When passion wanes, we need to seek emotional experiences to recharge it...and end up seeking the experiences, which is part of what Tozer is talking about. We need passion, surely. We need commitment. We need self-discipline. Truly, as Tozer wrote, we need the Holy Spirit...without Him, everything else is a placeholder and a poor substitute.
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Hmmmm... It shocked me to realize that someone would argue that we can assume and even expect passion to wane. And when it does, we must look for emotional experiences to recharge it? Interesting, but I do not believe Biblical. Of course, I felt compelled to respond...
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Me: T, we must not assume it is impossible to live with passion daily. It's actually scriptural and the very basis of my personal relationship with Christ. If I don't sense a passion to love the Lord and express that in my every day life, there is something wrong and I hope the Holy Spirit quickly pricks my heart. Romans 12:11: "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord" (NIV) or in the Message: "Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame." Passion for the child of God should not come and go, ebb and flow. If we recognize it is waning, an "emotional experience" may seem to recharge it temporarily but if that is the case, then one may question whether it was a true passion to begin with. I'm not implying by any means that Christians won't have times of doubt or "dry spells"--many of God's greatest ambassadors struggled with such things. But at the same time, they did not wait for the next emotional experience to pick them up; rather, they cried out to God. The very act of crying out and waiting for Him can be an act of passion.
Se: Sharon - it seems that you, through biblical interpretation, have placed a burden on us too great to bear. What if we don't have that passion? What does that mean?
Me: S, good question. I believe most of us are missing out on our potential in Christ for lack of passion. We often settle for a mundane, ineffective Christian relationship. The Holy Spirit wants to fill us with power. He can only do that when we are focused on Him, desiring to learn from Him, and then applying what He has revealed to us. I think of how so many of us can plan for weeks, adjust our schedules, and walk into a ball stadium to cheer on our favorite team but when it comes to setting time out for God each day or singing songs of praise or helping out/giving love to a neighbor we are bored and only do so out of duty. When we desire to do those things out of sincere love for Him, giving Him our best rather than what is left of our day or finances, THAT's passion.
Se: Sharon - no offense, but it sounds like the paradigm you are working from is one of sacrifice. This god requires my passion or he won't bless me. That isn't the paradigm I see Jesus teaching. Though it is obvious that in order to experience God, it would be necessary to seek to experience God, but when done authentically, I think it is often done from a place of deep doubt and pain. What you're describing is as the ancients described the gods - requiring sacrifice to be appeased. God requires nothing of me and yet everything He has is mine. I may come limping and crawling with no passion at all - but that is grace and the only God I care to know.
Me: If we don't have that passion, we are missing out on God's "abundant life" He has promised and our effectiveness dwindles. We can still be assured of salvation, praise the Lord. I just know for me that I've experienced both--the lack of passion as well as having that hunger for more of Him--and I much rather have the peace and hope and relationship it brings. Funny, I hadn't thought of it as a sacrifice. For me it's out of deep love and gratitude because I WANT to serve Him and receive all I can from Him, not because I feel I am sacrificing anything (although that's Biblical, too). Maybe that's where the difference is--sacrifice vs. desiring after Him.
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This is a more lengthy installment than usual but one I think important for us each to ask ourselves: "What is passion as it relates to my relationship with Christ?" "Does it 'ebb and flow' in my life?" "How do I keep 'fueled and aflame?'" And "How is that fervor being expressed outwardly in my life?" Some important questions to ask the Holy Spirit and then listen for His answer.
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