One Passion

 

"Here's the one thing I crave from Yahweh, the one thing I seek above all else; I want to live with Him every moment in His house, beholding the marvelous beauty of Yahweh, filled with awe, delighting in His glory and grace. I want to contemplate in His temple."Psalm 27:4 (TPT)

 

One Thing.

One Passion.

With only a little over a week until we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I have been reading scripture and meditating on that week, way back hundreds of years ago. The things that Jesus went through and the reason behind it. Our finite minds can not grasp the reality of it all. It is too high and too deep. But still we ponder it. Still we give praise for it. But still we can not fully grasp it all.

Christ had One Passion during His entire life on earth. There was One Thing always on His mind. He left the realms of glory to come to earth in human form for One Reason only- to give His life as a substitute for us- for me- for you. He took the death that we had earned through the fall of man- and in return He gave us fullness of Life. He took all the sin of the world on and in His body on the Cross- in our place- in order to give us life. We can only comprehend the surface of it all. And yet we try- especially at this time of year. One Thing.

What is our One Thing? Your One Thing? My One Thing? What is your One Passion- that passion that surpasses all other desires and passions in your heart? What is your One Passion anchored to? What is it embedded in, anchored to? If it isn't anchored in anything else except Christ- you are settling for something or someone less. Lesser things. Lesser loves. Lesser passions. David wrote in our verse- He had One Passion- One Thing- that he desired above all other things, all other loves. His One Passion, One Thing- was to behold the Lord. He desired above all else- to dwell in His house forever. Now, because of the Holy Spirit- we can live in His house, behold His glory- now. We don"t have to wait until we die. We can behold His splendor, His glory even now- in this lifetime. It may not be as great as it will be- but as we pursue Him, desire Him, seek after Him- we can behold His marvelous beauty all around us, in others, in creation, and in ourselves,

One Passion. One Thing. What is it that you hold on to so tightly that you won't let go? Are you settling for lesser things, things of this world, our earthly desires? Lord, help us to seek after that One and Only Thing- that One and Only Passion- to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1 Cor. 2:2). In Luke 22:41-44, our Lord prayed that His Father's will be done. He was in such agony that His sweat became blood- an actual physical happening when a person is in extreme distress. He had One Thing on His mind- you-me- all of humanity. One Passion- to take our place on a cruel cross. To suffer and die for me- for you. One Passion that drove Him to that garden- to that cross- to that grave- to hell itself- for you and me. One Thing. One Passion. Can we not also come to that place of One Passion- to die- to ourselves- to allow the Risen Savior to live inside of us- to live for others? Can we not have that One Passion to do His will?

Yes, we can! God gives us the strength and the power- to die to ourselves and to live for Him. It just becomes a choice each one of us must decide for ourselves. To have a passion for the lesser things in life, or to have that One Passion to truly live for Him. And in that One Passion He gives us life abundantly. He turns our desires into His desires. He turns the dead things in our lives, to living things. He give us life and more abundantly. (John 10:10). He doesn't want us to live a life full of dead, meaningless things-to live our lives far below our inheritance- of the reason that He died for us- - but to live- to experience His life inside of us! To be a living testimony to the world around us. We can't experience that kind of living without having that One Passion continually growing inside of us.

One Thing

One Passion

 

"I long to drink of You, O God, to drink deeply from the streams of pleasure flowing from Your presence. My longings overwhelm me for more of You!  My soul thirsts, pants, and longs for the living God. I want to come and see the face of God!"

Psalm 42:1-4 (The Passion Translation)

 

Dear Father,

Help us to remember, that above all things, there is only One Thing, One Passion that we should desire above all things- and that is Your Presence in our daily lives. Help us to avoid getting distracted with all the other things that want to take away our focus on You.

In Jesus' Name, Amen

 

~Donna