There's a certain passion that comes with living as a Christian; it is a burning praise. It doesn't require words, it doesn't require actions, it doesn't require going to church every Sunday, it doesn't require amounts of bible time, it doesn't require "x" acts of charity. It bends the norms of expected behavior, it twists the rules of expected grammar, it shatters the rules of expected priorities. All it takes is the giving of love to God through Christ and the Holy Spirit, whether things are rough or things are wonderful. Everything should be built around how much time we spend loving God and those around us (Matthew 22:37-40). When we make this our priority, our passion will overtake our laziness, our fears, our doubts, our bitterness, and our anger. Some people lecture about the need for discipline, but having discipline is not the issue; the issue is where we focus our discipline. The first place we need to be disciplined is with our love. A man or woman disciplined in loving the Lord and those around them will have far more than a man or woman who goes to church every Sunday, reads the Bible every day, and gives away all their money, but does nothing out of love. These are all good things, but without love, they are severely lacking - rather even "nothing" in the words of Paul. Yes those elements will be present in a Godly individual's life and in fact be a vital part of sustaining it, but as we grow our love and devotion to God, our requirements become our passions.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Corinthians 1-3).
So I implore you with this; where is your focus? In what areas in your own life, your ministry, your church, or beyond has your focus been on the fruits and not on the vine? Are you growing fruit or are you growing branches? A small tree overburdened with fruit with eventually will lose its limbs in a storm, but a large tree with strong branches will bear a great weight and still remain.
