As much as I learned and grew in Christ at the three Passion conferences that I did attend, I think that I am learning just as much by not attending this one. Here's why:
If you're anything like me, you're impatient. Fast food sometimes isn't fast enough. High-speed internet sometimes isn't "high-speed" enough. Urgent care takes all day. Traffic jams are headache inducers. In my world of "now," I find that sometimes I want my share of Jesus "now." Sometimes, I don't want to sweat and struggle and pray for hours on my knees only to have God not answer my prayer the way I want him to. Sometimes, I don't want to spend hours and hours studying scripture when the TV is calling my name. Sometimes, I don't want to be obedient to Christ when it's much easier not to be.
But here's the think about instantcy: it fleets.
Rome wasn't built in a day.
No pressure, no diamonds.
You pick the cliche; the point is all the same. For the most part, things that come quickly are usually less permanent/durable/quality than those that take time to develop. My walk with Christ is the same way. My nature wants it to come easily and quickly and painlessly. My nature wants to be at Passion because I can get an enormous dose of Jesus. My nature wants to be on high for Jesus, because a high feels so good. After all, what could be better than instant satisfaction that feels permanent and immortal? (For the record, I'm speaking about a spiritual high. I have no experience with any other kind of high!)
But remember the thing about instancy? It fleets. It is neither permanent nor immortal. Instant satisfaction turns out to be deception. Permanent turns into temporary. Immortal turns out to be very, very susceptible
By not being at Passion right now, I can see how differently I am approaching Christ. Instead of running to a fire hydrant of Jesus, I am steadily growing closer him little by little, day by day. I have to learn to grow in Christ painstakingly because there won't always be a Passion to go to. There won't always be a podcast to listen to or a book to read. Sometimes, all I will have are my bible and my Savior. If those two things aren't enough for me when they are all I have, then all the Passions in the world can't help me.
This is where I want to be careful. I do not want it to seem like I am saying that God can't change a
person through a conference like Passion. I have seen in my own life, and the lives of others, tangible change as a result of Passion and conferences similar. I will definitively say, however, that if you leave Passion with nothing but emotions, by the end of the month, you will revert to the pre-Passion version of yourself. That is to say, if all you take away from Passion are some one-line quotes from Francis Chan, a heart full of emotion, a picture with your community group, and a digital all-access pass, then you will not change. All the preaching, all the music from the best worship bands, all the lights, and all the fog in the world is not enough to change your stony heart. Only Jesus can change your stony heart. Jesus will be preached at Passion. You only have to make sure that you're following him, and not your fleeting emotions. If you are blessed enough to have attended Passion this year, please don't waste what God is trying to do in you by letting your emotions convince you that there is no work involved. If God is doing a work through you, it won't be completed at Passion. In fact, it won't be completed until "the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). Don't let your emotions fool you into thinking that it's smooth sailing here on our. Expect to have to work. To have to go against the grain. To probably have to endure some painful or confusing hours in prayer. There is no such thing as instant faith. Satan would like nothing more than for you to attend Passion and leave deceived by your own emotions.
Please, don't think for even a second that I have all of this figured out. I say these things only because I have seen the spiritual high deceive too many people, including myself. It pains me to see people fired up for Christ, only to find that their intensity was rooted in their own ability to stay high. If you attended Passion 2013, I pray that you will continue to thrive in Christ long after the high has faded. If you didn't get to attend Passion 2013, don't worry. You may not be sitting a room with 60,000 people, but the time you spend in prayer and in the Word glorifies the same God being worshiped in the Georgia Dome. If you have no clue what Passion is, that's perfectly alright, because Passion isn't the point.
Jesus is the point.
person through a conference like Passion. I have seen in my own life, and the lives of others, tangible change as a result of Passion and conferences similar. I will definitively say, however, that if you leave Passion with nothing but emotions, by the end of the month, you will revert to the pre-Passion version of yourself. That is to say, if all you take away from Passion are some one-line quotes from Francis Chan, a heart full of emotion, a picture with your community group, and a digital all-access pass, then you will not change. All the preaching, all the music from the best worship bands, all the lights, and all the fog in the world is not enough to change your stony heart. Only Jesus can change your stony heart. Jesus will be preached at Passion. You only have to make sure that you're following him, and not your fleeting emotions. If you are blessed enough to have attended Passion this year, please don't waste what God is trying to do in you by letting your emotions convince you that there is no work involved. If God is doing a work through you, it won't be completed at Passion. In fact, it won't be completed until "the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). Don't let your emotions fool you into thinking that it's smooth sailing here on our. Expect to have to work. To have to go against the grain. To probably have to endure some painful or confusing hours in prayer. There is no such thing as instant faith. Satan would like nothing more than for you to attend Passion and leave deceived by your own emotions.
Please, don't think for even a second that I have all of this figured out. I say these things only because I have seen the spiritual high deceive too many people, including myself. It pains me to see people fired up for Christ, only to find that their intensity was rooted in their own ability to stay high. If you attended Passion 2013, I pray that you will continue to thrive in Christ long after the high has faded. If you didn't get to attend Passion 2013, don't worry. You may not be sitting a room with 60,000 people, but the time you spend in prayer and in the Word glorifies the same God being worshiped in the Georgia Dome. If you have no clue what Passion is, that's perfectly alright, because Passion isn't the point.
Jesus is the point.
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