What is Your Passion? Do You Overflow?

What is Your Passion?
Genesis 4:2-8 "2And [next] she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.
4And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions.

And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering,
5But for Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard.

So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and he looked sad and depressed.
6And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry?

And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected?
7If you do well, will you not be accepted?

And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door;

its desire is for you, but you must master it.

8And Cain said to his brother, Let us go out to the field.

And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him."

Romans 12:11

"11Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor;

be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord."

What's your frustration - About a year ago, in our ladies’ meeting,

Pastor Kathy asked us to consider what one thing we had been passionate about

during the past week. Passionate enough to be angry, frustrated,

maybe even to lose our cool over it.

This thing could even have gone so well that we experienced happiness and joy over it.

The question was such an eye opener for me.

For one, being a southern lady, lots and lots of emphasis on being nice

is just sort of absorbed by osmosis as you grow up, even into your twenties and thirties,

because lets be honest, we are not done growing up at 18.

Now at 42, I can see how much of a life long process that growing up thing is.

But, that's a whole other message!

The overrating of NICE - Isn't it true, Ladies?

When you think about it, don't you realize you know to be "nice"

and you can't even say how you know?

I know I can’t tell you how I know to be nice.

It really isn’t that I ever remember someone telling me,

"Maria, you are a lady, and ladies must be nice."

No, it was never anything like that.

Just something you pick up from listening and living and learning.

So, because of this whole “nice” thing,

a lot of times we have this vague feeling that to be frustrated or angry

is a bad thing, unfeminine, inappropriate,

and then, once you are saved, you often feel it may even not be Christ like.

Are you seeing why her question was so liberating to me?

I have not been able to let it go,

and I truly hope that God will allow me to keep this revelation,

and grow in it and share it with others, all my life.

Why was this question such a big deal?

In the first place,

when we believe we may be behaving inappropriately

in the feelings department,

we sometimes sort of try to gloss over what we are feeling.

We don’t really want to take that feeling and look at it

and figure out where that frustration, or anger or desire is coming from.

Dangerous to ignore - How many of us know by now,

that this will get us in trouble if we don’t deal with it a good way?

Even though it's not smart to ignore these feelings, many times we do.

Many times we miss discovering what the source of that frustration is,

by asking ourself some questions.

Ask the Question - When Pastor Kathy asked that question,

I did not have to think hard about what had been my source of agitation the past week.

It had to do with a situation, that I was indeed passionate about.

All of a sudden I realized, that no,

I was not behaving in a spoiled fashion,

I was not pouting, (not that I haven't on occasion).

But, rather I was feeling strongly motivated about a purpose that I was wired for!

Viewing the situation I had experienced that week

through those colored glasses,

took a load off my mind, renewed my focus on what was important

and even refreshed my zeal for the task.

Understanding that the whole point of my frustration

was a concern for my mission, my calling,

and wondering at the perceived obstacle and its impact,

gave me permission to feel irritation, as long as I handled it properly.

As long as I did not become pouty, manipulative, or disheartened.

The question of "what was my passion"

allowed me to perceive that my frustration did in fact have purpose.

And, since this occasion, I did not behave inappropriately (3 cheers!),

I was free now to keep moving forward,

and embrace that it is quite alright with Our Father, God to feel strongly on a subject.

He feels strongly about everything.

I believe He is pleased when we do as well.

People that are passionate are interesting.

They generally seem to be honest, because they just can’t help themselves.

I like that!

As I have thought about this over the past few weeks.

It has begun to soak its way into my being, my mind.

As I was reading a book recently, about what our Christianity means to our everyday life,

the author mentions how centuries ago, there was a class of Christians

who would wander the streets, flailing themselves with a whip or something like that,

to punish their body, which they had so many issues with,

and thought of as a hindrance to closeness to God.

They were misguided.

But here is what the author pointed out;

the times we live in, may seem just as strange,

when a future society reads about the accounts of marathon runners who punish their bodies with grueling daily jogs/runs, miles and miles long.

Epipheny - And all of a sudden I really couldn’t focus on the book at all anymore.

I really just started mentally considering how cool of a God we have,

that He has actually wired us each and every one to be so unique,

and in a truly unique fashion to be able to connect with Him,

and experience Him in a completely individual to us.

I know, I know, You are saying, Maria we all know this, Maria, this is Christianity 101.

And I just have to say, yeah, I know, I knew it, too,

but now I REALLY know it, in a brand new way.

I got so excited thinking about those

that are designed to meet with God on the early morning run,

seeing Him in the changing leaves, and the smiling faces of the people they will pass.

Or the way the guy out in his garage working on his car

will experience his growth, his zeal and his moment with God, when he gets the timing chain set just right!

I was so exhilarated to know that not only was it Ok,

that I am wired to study and write and teach,

and that everywhere I go, I see a principal at work or a lesson to learn,

or something that God is saying to the Body of Christ through the world around us.

All these things were great, but

it got even better,

when I put all that together

to realize that means

I can really learn to rest about everyone else’s faith in the orbit of my life.

The people that God has blessed me to share this journey with.

You know, Ladies...the ones we worry about!

No, their faith and my faith will never look exactly the same,

and sometimes our faiths may even look worlds and worlds apart,

but they can be, and I can be,

still fulfilling that upward in the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Work vs Serve -And this epiphany led me to this thought.

I have been studying Genesis in the early days, a lot for a project that I am working on.

Have you ever noticed there are times when your studies show up everywhere you look?

This study has been like that. Now, this whole thing with Cain and Abel. Very disturbing.

How does it pertain to us?

Well, I offer you this. Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Strong's Concordance indicates this word for the work he did implies, that Cain had a job,

he worked, he toiled.

It does not reflect a calling, any pleasure, or passion.

Abel on the other hand is said to have been a keeper of the sheep.

The wording implies a different picture, something he may have taken pleasure in.

Again, Strong's paints a picture for us. It's an act of service, rather than work.

Work implies a sense of “here we go, I have to do this, not gonna get done if I don’t, woe is me”.

Service implies, "I care for those I am serving, that's what makes it all worthwhile.

I am wired for this."

Ya' gettin' the subtle difference here?

Think of Paula Deen versus us when we are not in the mood to make dinner!

The attention to the little details that you are inclined to give,

when you are doing what you are made to do, what you are wired for.

You do a great job at the things you enjoy, that you like, that you care about.

The joy that your passion, or your goal gives you

makes you able to endure hardship and not give up hope.

Hebrews 12 tells us that Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him.

In other words, He was created for a destiny, for a purpose.

He had an ultimate goal, that made Him able to endure the horror of living in a fallen earth,

and allowed himself to endure much abuse, much scorn, and even torture and death,

because He had His eyes on the prize.

Oh, that we could get our eyes so fixed on the prize that we would not lose our joy,

that we would serve unfailingly, that we would not be weary in well doing,

for in due season we will reap a harvest, IF WE FAINT NOT!

See, the "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to work we go!" is more the mind set of Abel,

not so much Cain.

Cain and Abel show us what happens in the Body of Christ

when we are not in our correct position.

I submit to you, we are none wired for something that will be a drudgery for us.

whatever God has set us apart to do, will allow us to flow in the anointing.

Yes, it will require effort, and seeking and depending on Him.

But it will be satisfying and the result will be a life that overflows.

Remember that Jesus says in John 10:10 – we all know this, "the thief cometh not, but for to steal, kill and destroy, I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly," . That word means, overflowing, superabundance.

Abel’s care of the sheep, his tending of the sheep resulted in an overflow,

where he gave back to God from the best that he had.

It's like that when you enjoy what you do, when it is an act of love.

Because, when you love what you do, you want to SHARE it, it just cannot be contained.

It OVERFLOWS!

Cain, on the other hand -his work of tilling the land,

his "have to get this done" mentality resulted in a grudging gift of obligation to the Lord.

This was more of a leftover sort of thing, not an overflow.

It was more of "Let’s see what I can live with out,

I have to give something, and this doesn’t look like it will make much of a meal.

It will make a good offering, He doesn’t need this anyway,

what is the point of whatever small thing I have?

(Can't you just hear God saying - "You know - you just keep that, don't do me any favors, son.")

Cain continues - What I have is so hard to come by,

I don’t think He would want me to just give it to be burned."

When we dread what we do, we are not honoring God,

and we are cheating ourselves out of a fulfilling, overflowing life.

When we perform our work, rather than performing a service, an act of love,

there is no joy set before us.

Judas, worked, Judas grudged, Judas betrayed.

Cain worked, Cain grudged, Cain betrayed.

Here is what Cain could have given...

Left overs -Instead Cain gave the left over. This is what the word study implies.

The wording of Cain's giving compared to Abel's shows right off the top giving (Abel)

as compared to bottom of the barrel giving (Cain).

This would be more like Cain's gift...

Drudgery vs servanthood - See how the mentality of drugery "have to get this done"

marks every area of our life?

When we do not find or pursue our passion,

we not only will not get to hear “well done, thou good and faithful servant”.

But, we also become dangerous,

because that part of us that is unfulfilled, then jealously watches others’ successes,

and wants that success, that favor of God for ourselves.

We begrudge someone else’s success, the fruit of their labor of love.

Pursuing our Passion - But, when we find our passion, Look out!

Our biggest danger then, is to the enemy!

Look at little David, he was such a good son, such a good shepherd.

He was prepared through his labor of love, in so many ways, for the next steps of his life. Because he embraced his calling, he was ready when it was time

to serve his father and brothers and bring the food to the troops, and get a report for his Father.

This preparation put him him in the path of his destiny,

and he was ready mentally, physically and spiritually for the confrontation with Goliath.

God was personal to him.

The same God who gave him strength as a shepherd,

and helped him in all those ordinary battles,

would now give the victory over the real battle in his life!

Everything in his ordinary life,

was practice for this and future battles,

and shepherding of his mighty men and kingdom.

It was unthinkable that an “uncircumcised Philistine”

be permitted to slander the Name of the Most High,

the same who was his daily and nightly companion.

He was ready when time came for him to care for the down trodden,

the oppressed people who came to him and he was able to shepherd them.

He was then ready to be King, because of his many, many years of preparation.

Do it with your heart! Whatever you do, do with zeal. Do it with your heart!

If there is no zeal, pray, seek God, miss a meal or two.

Ask Him to let you see what you do with a fresh sense of purpose,

to be useful to Him.

Or to redirect you day by day, until you can begin to see that yes, you have begun to overflow.