"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)My wife and I have a Valentine's Day tradition that began 6 years ago in a small apartment in Louisville, KY--we watch the movie Serendipity together. This movie has it all. It has the mushy stuff that the lady folks really dig. It has the comedy and umph that men relate to. It develops the characters nicely and builds tension within the plot as the movie reaches its climactic ending. It is truly a great movie.
As with every movie that I've become especially fond of over the last several years, Serendipity meets a requirement that all of the others must possess as well. They each have at least one quotable line in them. A thought provoking quote.
To set up the quote, I must first explain its context. One of the friends in the movie is an obituary writer for the New York Times. As the series of events unfold in the movie, this friend turns to one of the main characters and explains to him that the Greeks did not write obituaries. They simply asked one question about the deceased (and this is where the quote comes in). They simply ask, "Did He live with passion?"
Jesus teaches us to love God with all that we are. Our entire heart! Our entire soul! Our entire mind! Our entire strength! We are commanded to live for God with passion!
Each year, on Valentine's Day, I am reminded of this. In my mind, I fast forward to my last day. What would the Greeks say of me? If no obituary were written of my life, how would my family, friends, and neighbors answer this question?
Was I passionate for my God? Was I passionate in my devotion and service to my family? Did I live a life that would inspire others? Or, did I simply exist through each day of my life as though I were simply waiting for my last?
In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul teaches us that God has a good, pleasing, and perfect will for our lives! For each one of us! Jesus said that He had come that we would have life to the fullest!
When all is said and done, what will be said of you? Did you live with passion? If not, I hope this devotional has been timely for you. I hope that you will be encouraged, along with me, to be passionate about the will of God for your life--with ALL that you are! Live abundantly! Live passionately! Live to the glory of God!
God bless!
