the lesser passions
ah...here we go. after weeks of lurking and reading, reading and lurking, i finally take the plunge into a blog-a-licious world. i've been blogging for ages, but not here, so i'm new to you guys, anyway. i guess all that you really need to know about me is that i love to stir things up. in a good way. love to discuss things that i am passionate about, and i must say there are many subjects that fall under that category. hence, the title of this particular blog:)
some time ago, a friend of mine, knowing that i love max lucado's books and writings, gave me a card with a quote of his on the front. it's a quote that reminded her of me...and of the many conversations that we have had about seeking the deeper things of God...the passion that fuels the fire of our spirits and drives us absolutely mad, all at the same time. if you don't mind, i'm gonna share the quote with you.
"....God rewards those who seek Him. not those who seek doctrine or religion or systems or creeds. many settle for these lesser passions, but the reward goes to those who settle for nothing less than Jesus Himself. and what is the reward? what awaits those who seek Jesus? nothing shortof the heart of Jesus."
wow. well, for me, that's it. those words have been my challenge for many years before i ever read them...before mr. lucado ever penned them. i have found myself being so stirred, so unsettled, so completely and totally CRAZY with spiritual thirst, that i have been forced to settle for those lesser passions...the ones that are 'acceptable' to other churchgoers..the ones that don't get us in trouble when we talk about them..the ones that don't challenge those that you are with and bring with them an uncomfortable silence that eventually forces you to change the subject or walk away with the 'unsaid' hanging in the air, like a bad smell.
to put it plainly...i have settled for the lesser passions to SURVIVE.
but, as is always the case and the now-familiar pattern...the lesser passions do not satisfy the hunger or quench the thirst. and here i am again..in this place..this valley of indecision. do i want to survive? or do i want to allow this fire to take me into the depths of who Jesus really is...the HEART of Jesus?
in either case, i will burn.