The true meaning of passion – (Christ’s example)

This post will help you discover the true meaning of passion by understanding the passion of Christ

Last night after listening to some series of short inspirational talks from Eric Thomas, I began to ponder on the subject matter of ‘purpose’. I pondered until I became eager to know the difference between a hobby and a purpose. Now I guess this was where all those thoughts were leading to – Discovery. As I looked up those words, I began to sense some deep truth. When I looked up the meaning of the word ‘hobby’, it says “An activity that one enjoys doing in one’s spare time” (English Dictionary definition). Those two words, ‘spare time’ got me thinking again. That means hobbies are those things we love doing with our leftover time. Okay. I looked up the word ‘purpose’ from the same dictionary, it says,

“1. An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal” or “5.The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.”

Then I looked up the word ‘passion’. It says,
“1. Any great, strong, powerful emotion, especially romantic love or hate”.

I picked two words from the definition – strong emotion. Let’s see another – love or hate. I kept looking at the different meaning of passion according to their numbers, 1, 2, 3 … until I got to the fifth meaning of the word – passion – which was defined under Christianity. It says, “(Christianity) The suffering of Jesus leading up to and during his crucifixion”. The moment I read and ruminated those lines, “The suffering of Jesus” something dawned on me, which was the moment the true meaning of passion was made clear. So passion means suffering for what you love. So looking at the life of Christ when he lived on the earth, it was full of passion and not hobbies because he never spared a time pursuing it (see. John 4:35) neither did he relaxed (see. Luke 9:58). Most times he was much pained and went through a lot of sufferings and sacrifices, yet he followed that one course that led to the ultimate fulfillment.

Today, many people pursue sweetness which they mistake for passion because they think that’s what they are passionate about. No wonder dissatisfaction still comes because that one thing they were made to fulfill still lay low, but inasmuch as Christ has given us the true meaning of passion – that is, that which must be attended to with much sufferings and sacrifices, we must first recognize it.

Discovering your passion

At times, the easiest way to discover where your passion lies is to discover your pain. What pains you? What is the burden in your heart that seems to never go away? What do you want to change? The burden in the heart of Christ was our fallen world. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life” – John 3:16. He saw a world of men and women that are headed for destruction and he could not but lay down his life for our redemption. Do you at times see yourself talking to yourself or you imagine you addressing an issue you wish to address? That is what you are meant to do. That might be you expressing a passion in you but perhaps you fear or are not aware. Don’t be bothered or overwhelmed with the reality of that but realize and resolve to live out that purpose and be ready for the pains and sufferings it will cost you until the fulfillment come.

Our passion must be attended to with much pain, cries, loneliness, weariness until we find our fulfillment Share on X

If we find only sweetness, love or relaxation, then we’ve not found our passion but a hobby Share on X

Maybe you’ve been mistaking your hobby for your passion all this while, here are four key differences between hobby and passion that will help you draw a clear line between the two

A hobby is – what you love doing at your spare time. Passion is – what you won’t spare the time to do Share on X

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Hobby – you relax when doing your hobby. Passion – you sit up (disciplined) when fulfilling your passion Share on X

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Hobby – you want to do it. Passion – you have to do it Share on X

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Hobby – it is attended to with pleasure and sweetness. Passion – attended to with much pain and sacrifices Share on X

As Christ was passionate, so also should believers in him be passionate in fulfilling their God-given assignment here on earth, but they must first identify what it is they are passionate about and purposefully go after it.

Related post: “Can my passion be misleading and degrading?”