Passion Fruit

But I have THIS against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

(Revelation 2:4, ESV)

For His sake I have suffered the loss of ALL things and count them as rubbish,
IN ORDER THAT I may GAIN CHRIST.
(Philippians 3:8b, ESV)

Case #1: A pastor visits another church for a concert, which features a talented choir from Africa. In addition to the beautiful harmonies and upbeat rhythms, the pastor easily picks up on the contagious energy and passion the group brings to their worship. As the group moves and smiles during their worship, he can't help but do the same. Part of the reason, the pastor feels, why their passion and energy in worship is so noticeable is because he feels he doesn't see that same response from the congregation during the worship in his own worship services. He knows the differences in worship are cultural, but can't help feeling like that's not the only difference at play in the worship.

Case #2: In a small village in central Haiti, a man wakes up on the dirt floor of his hut, just before sunrise. He smiles when he realizes it's Sunday morning. The middle-aged man quickly throws on his clothes on and goes outside. He starts walking barefoot down a stony dirt path. His feet are mostly numb from the callouses he has accumulated over the years. He walks for hours, even crossing a river at one point (which goes up to his waist). He eventual arrives at his church, about 15 minutes before the service starts. The man sits down briefly, to rest his feet, which are now swollen and bleeding slightly. He then gets up and starts singing and praising God in the worship service, which he fully expects to go on for at least four hours (maybe more), after which he walks back to his hut, smiling and singing all the way.

Case #3: An American mom wakes up at 8:30 AM on Sunday morning. Her church's one-hour worship service starts at 9:30 in the summer and she realizes she has overslept. Her husband lies motionless beside her. She feels there is simply no way she can get all the kids out of bed, clean, fed, and dressed in time to make it to church. The kids are already used to sleeping in during the summer, so it will be even harder to get them ready now. Claiming defeat, she lies back down and goes back to sleep. She will need her energy for her son's baseball game later. 

Maybe its because I'm a self-proclaimed "church-aholic", but can't help but wonder where the passion has gone from the church today. If you look back 50 (or so) years ago, church was so ingrained in the culture that nothing was open on Sundays. It was assumed that you be going to worship in the morning and be Sabbath-resting" in the afternoon (with maybe a little football on the side for the guys). The same is true in other parts of the world today (as cases #1 and #2 hopefully illustrate).

So what happened? How have we come to a place where going to church is no more significant (or exciting) than going to your corner Starbucks and ordering a frappuccino? Why is God only one of our focuses rather than the focus? Why are the parents not outraged with the city-league junior tackle football coach schedules a game for Sunday morning at 11:00. Why are we so accepting? Why are we so quick to brush off church, if there's something more convenient on our schedule? Shouldn't the worship of Almighty God in His house... where He speaks to us from His own word be WORTH clearing our schedule for?

The problem, I fear, is the same as that of the disappearing shoreline at your local beach. Erosion. Bit-by-bit, day-by-day, year-by-year things we like are slowly creeping higher and higher on our priorities list, while the God who created all those things falls ever so lower and lower on that list. That's the problem.

So what's the solution? Well, the good news is... it's an easy one. The bad news is... it's going to be an unpopular choice. The simple answer is... PUT GOD FIRST. If you seek God first (Matt. 6:33) and obediently respect the Sabbath day (Ex. 20:8) as sacred (lit. means  set apart in the original texts), then God HAS to honor your efforts, because they put HIM first. The problem is ... this means saying "NO" to some things.. a lot of things...in order to ensure God is first in all things... but Paul makes it clear in Philippians 3 that gaining Christ in the exchange is by far better than any of those things we give up.

The real question I'm trying to probe at here is this... Why don't we see that gaining Christ is better? Why don't we pursue Him, understanding that, when we do, He will reveal himself within all those other things we desire (Christ in soccer practice, Christ in family time at home, etc.). We need to stop reducing Christ and/or Church to just another check box on the To-Do list... and start demanding that He be first in every area of our lives. We need to insist on anything that competes with God for our attention being made a distant second to the God who has died to redeem us and set us free.

If you find yourself too busy for God, His Word, or the work and worship of His Church, then you need to start trimming the fat.... while savoring the meat of a tender relationship with Christ. Demand those priorities for yourself and your family, and I guarantee it will surprise you what blessings are in store.

... and as you seek to put God first in all things, rearranging your priorities accordingly... do so with an uncontainable passion. The Christian life is hard, but it is never a downer. If we know that Christ is of "surpassing worth" (Phil. 3:8a)... and truly believe there's nothing better than HIM... then we better start acting like it. We better start bearing passion fruit... because real  spiritual passion fruit, just like real physical passion fruit, is delicious.