“Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of His coming back again is drawing near.” ― Hebrews 10:24-25
What do we do when we feel no passion for God? When there is no zeal in our lives for the things of God? By passion and zeal, I’m talking about intensity. The opposite of this type of passion would be apathy―or those times when we feel dry about spiritual things. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Maybe that describes you today.
There was a man who once ran for a local school board position. But because he was unopposed there was no excitement to his campaign. Well, it’s one thing to run for office and lose. It happens all the time. But it’s another thing to run unopposed and still lose. In fact, if anyone had voted for him―and I mean anyone―he’d have won a seat on the school board. That’s exactly what happened to Carl Miner of Blytheville, Arkansas, when he ran unopposed for a seat on the South Mississippi County School Board. Nobody voted for him. Nobody! Not even Miner voted for himself―because when he went to the polling place, it had already closed when he arrived. Officials say it was the first time in the history of Mississippi County that nobody in the entire precinct voted for a candidate. And Miner? Despite running unopposed, he was denied the school board seat because nobody in his precinct voted for him. It’s true: You can’t win for losing! Well, just think about that for a minute. If just one person would had displayed a little passion and gotten involved in Carl Miner’s life, including himself, he would be a School Board member.
I have found over the years the same holds true for Christians who kind of drop off the radar screen at their church. Sometimes they suffer burn out, but most go through a time of spiritual apathy because God seems to be distant or they might drift back into the world for another look. It doesn’t take many missing Sundays for the light of God to dim in their lives―and that’s when they need a boost from someone who cares.
Someone needs to cast a vote for them—even when they can’t seem to get to the polls on time for themselves. A word of encouragement, an invitation to church or a small group meeting, a project that they could get involved in to help others—all of these could very well make the difference for someone to get their passion back and to actively rejoin the body of Christ.
Know anyone like that? I do. As soon as I post this I’m going to make a phone call or two. I bet someone would love to hear from you, too. Or, perhaps you need a boost in the right direction. How about today? One final thought from Helen Keller, “Science may have found a cure for most evils, but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all―the apathy of human beings.” I bet we can change that church! Maranatha!
Pastor Don
