Do you have a passion for something? Do you have a passion for somebody? When you first see the word what does it immediately bring to mind? The word has different meanings to many people and here are those listed in the dictionary (see Dictionary.com).

1. any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
2. strong amorous feeling or desire; love; ardor.
3. strong sexual desire; lust.
4. an instance or experience of strong love or sexual desire.
5. a person toward whom one feels strong love or sexual desire.
6. a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything: a passion for music.
7. the object of such a fondness or desire: Accuracy became a passion with him.
8. an outburst of strong emotion or feeling: He suddenly broke into a passion of bitter words.
9. violent anger.
10. the state of being acted upon or affected by something external, esp. something alien to one’s nature or one’s customary behavior ( contrasted with action).
11. ( often initial capital letter ) Theology .
a. the sufferings of Christ on the cross or His sufferings subsequent to the Last Supper.
b. the narrative of Christ’s sufferings as recorded in the Gospels.
12. Archaic . the sufferings of a martyr.

In which of these descriptions do you see yourself? Many of us most probably don’t realise how passionate we are about certain things in our lives until they are challenged. Our immediate reaction is usually one of defence, we are adamant that our ‘passion’ is justified and will defend it whether our passion is valid or not.
I have a passion, well probably more than one if I were being truthful. My passion is my faith and my faith is in my God and my Saviour. I am passionate about all things concerning my Maker. It isn’t simply a belief, an ideal, a religion or anything like these but is a knowledge founded in a relationship. I have experienced a dramatic change in my attitude brought about by the realisation that God loves me and has demonstrated that love. That is the key, He demonstrated His love so I know Him to be true. For me, life without God is meaningless. Yes, I have a passion. I have ‘lesser’ passions too of course but they are all temporal, my main passion is for something that will last forever.
Are all your ‘passions’ centred in this world and only for your life in the flesh or have you a passion for something better?

Shirley Anne