It’s easy to find out the passion that people have when you start talking with them. Whether it’s a hobby, career, food, music, etc. they get excited to share. They look for opportunities and sure they can go overboard at times but you can’t deny that they have a passion and willingness to share what that they think is very important.
I was thinking of this other day during an encounter I had with an elderly gentleman while I was out walking my dog. We crossed paths, exchanged hellos and he seemed to want to talk a little so I listened. He was telling me about some of his recent health problems but he didn’t tell me about every medication or procedure he’d ever had. Instead he kept using stories about his good health in days gone by when he served in the Korean War to talk about how deteriorated his health was now. It was his service in the War that he really wanted to talk about. That was his real passion. In fact as he opened his first story he smiled as he pointed to his hat, which read “KOREA” across the top with the American flag below, and he explained how he had served in the war.
I enjoyed talking to him and peppered him with a lot of questions which he was more than happy to answer but as I listened to him talk I kept thinking about how proudly he wore his hat (and he should!) and how ready he was to talk about his service for his country. I thought of how many times I’ve dropped the ball in opportunities that I had to share Christ and the times I coulda and shoulda spoke up but didn’t. (Why is it I seem to remember those times much better than the times I was courageous and obedient?) I thought about how he was ready to talk to me about his passion even though he had no idea what my views were. I could’ve been a pacifist or a war protester and he wouldn’t have cared either way. He still would’ve been ready to stand firm.
I was encouraged by his passion and I kept thinking how it shouldn’t be any different for me when it comes to sharing Christ. In Romans 1:16 Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek”. There’s no need for me to lack any courage about sharing Christ. The truth is that in those moments where I’ve failed to share I have lacked courage and it’s usually because I’ve been more concerned about what I might lose in this world rather than being willing to risk the loss of those things for Him.
The passion of the elderly man was born out of the war he actually fought and survived to tell about. My passion will mature out of the victory Christ purchased for me and my willingness to fight the battle he’s called me to fight in His strength. The more that happens the more likely I’ll be in the next encounter to just smile and share the good news of Christ regardless of the people I meet.
