Tough Mudder, Spartan Beast, Iron Warrior, Gut Check… the
list goes on. Marathons, triathlons, sprints, 10K, 5K… and for the very
extreme, Ultra Marathons (100 miles) and
Iron Man (if you don’t know, look it up… it’s extreme!) Get off your feet and
on to a bike – if you can select one: all mountain, cross country, trail, enduro,
downhill, or freeride… Put a motor on it, it can get faster, farther, higher…
You can jump off a cliff, a bridge, or out of an airplane. You can fly Ultralights,
para-sails, hang gliders… And I haven’t even started on team sports… 
There are so many opportunities to engage in the extreme,
push yourself to the limit, and put yourself at risk, in the hospital, or in
the grave, it makes you start to wonder what is going on… Not to mention the incredible
amount of commerce surrounding these activities: literally billions of dollars
each year spent to see how far one can push themself… I need to ask: Why?
What is it that makes us so restless, so anxious to get out there on the very edge
and get our heart rate racing?
For me, as one who has participated in much of the above, and
who has spent his fair share of billions, I have come to the conclusion that I
do these things to be fully alive. This isn’t to say that those who sit on the couch
and watch sports, or cooking shows are not alive, or that they have a life any
less valid than my own, but when I am sitting on a couch even for a few
minutes, I feel the need to jump on my XC bike and hit the trails. I see a
beautiful cliff over water and I long to jump off of it. I see the ocean and I
want to go scuba diving. I wake up and I want to go run, go to the gym, or
whatever I can to get my heart racing again. I can’t explain it, and when I
try to, I get funny looks from those who
do not share my affinity for the fast. But, when I meet a compatriot, we smile
at each other knowingly, each of us dreaming of that perfect push, that
edge-of-the-cliff experience that connects us to each other, to the earth, and
to the Maker of the Universe. 
Think about creation for a moment. If you want to believe all
of this was an accident, and somehow it all just happened, well go for it… I
have contemplated Darwinism, Naturalism, and the Big bang, and honestly I think
it takes more faith to believe that all of this started from nothing without some
kind of outside initiative. Or Initiator… But I digress. Creation: mountains,
valleys, streams, rivers, oceans, lakes, oxygen, water, earth, space, stars…
dogs, cats (not my favorite) elephants, lions, tigers, and bears, octopuses and
platypuses… All this variety, conflict, and cooperation. Why would a creator
make so many incredible things, outwardly disassociated, but in reality
completely interconnected and codependent. And then there is us… humans:
wonderful, horrible, beautiful, demented, destructive, creative, boring,
intense.
I look at all of this, and one word comes to mind: passion.
Passion. Our Creator is a passionate God. If you look around, and accept this
view that the Creator is a passionate God, things make much more sense. “Why
did He make this?” Because He is a passionate Creator who loves the edge, the
heights, the depths… the outer fringe. And since we were made in His image, we are
passionate creatures.
When you think of “passion” in its most obvious sense, you
might think of two lovers embracing “passionately.” I do understand that
passion, as I am married to an amazing woman who after 28 years of marriage still
makes my heart race. I also understand the side of passion that can look like
rage – as I just mentioned, I have been married for 28 years. When I say I love
my kids, I cannot even begin to describe the passion I have for them, for what
their lives can be, and how I long for them to live fully engaged lives as well.
I think this, too, is an image of our Creator – why He created us.
When I say I love to run, many people, perhaps you, just
think I am crazy. I have had one guy boldly say to me that I was stupid to run so
much. Then he started talking about computers and technology and passionately
describing the Bluetooth capabilities…. Or some other stuff I had no idea what
he was talking about… but he was passionate!! What about you? What are you
passionate about? What makes your heart race?
Bottom line: We are passionate people, created by a
passionate God, who still loves us passionately. In fact, some refer to the
week of Easter as Passion Week, and call the act of God laying down His life
for us, “The Passion.” As you explore
what it is that ignites your passion, I hope to encourage you to consider how
it connects you to Him… the ONE who made you to be passionate. Pursuing your
passion is a holy pursuit… Go for it!
DannyT
