How Much Zeal Do You Have For The Lord?

June, 2002

by: John Richard

How passionate are you? How much energy do you put into everything you do? How much zeal do you have in your walk with the Lord? If you were to rate yourself from one to ten with ten being the highest, how much zeal would you have? Are you a slow simmer or a blazing inferno? Are you a smoldering flame or a forest fire? Are you a single lit candle, or a fire in the fireplace? Are you a piece of burnt charcoal, or a burning grill? How are you answering those questions?

Passion for the Lord is often forsaken when our walk with the Lord becomes “easy.” It often is forsaken, when we become complacent with all we have, forgetting what it is like to have nothing. However, the Bible is clear that believers are to have passion for the Lord. This is clear from the examples of Jesus and Paul and through exhortations in the Word. Are you going to be passionate in being passionate for the Lord?

Jesus had a passion for the glory of His Father. In John 2, the Apostle John wrote how Jesus showed this passion. It states that Jesus went up to Jerusalem, for the Passover was at hand. This was the custom of His parents (Luke 2:41), as it was for Jews in general. When Jesus arrived at Jerusalem He went to the temple. When He went to the temple, he found people selling animals and businessmen exchanging money with those who came from out of town. These activities were not bad in and of themselves, for they helped those people who came from out of town for the Passover.

The people who came to the Passover needed an animal to sacrifice, and often it would be hard to transport animals over a long distance, so they would just buy the animals there. Also, there was a specific currency that was acceptable for the tax, so they had to exchange their money for that currency so they could pay the tax. The problem with these activities though was that they were being performed in the temple. They were using the place of worship for their own endeavors, not the glory of God. Jesus took action, because the holiness of God and His worship were at stake. Jesus cleared everyone out and threw over the tables, demanding that they leave, because He was zealous for God and His glory. Do you have that zeal for God's glory? Now I am not asking you to throw over tables and break doors down, but you are to follow the example of Christ and have zeal for the Lord.

Besides following the example of Jesus, there are numerous exhortations for us to have a zeal for the Lord. Believers are to have zeal for the glory of God (Numbers 25:11-13; Psalm 115:1; 1 Cor. 10:31; Colossians 3:23). Believers are to do everything heartily, that is with everything they have. They are to strive with their whole being to bring glory to the Lord.

Believers are also to have a zeal for the lost, just like Paul did. He wanted every person to be saved (Acts 26:28-29), willing to “risk” his own salvation for that of the Jews (Romans 9:1-3; 10:1). Paul loved them so much that he was sorrowful that they were not saved. Do you have that much zeal for the lost, that you weep over their rebellion against God?

Believers are also called to have zeal in action (Romans 12:11) and spirit (Romans 12:11). “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Eccl. 9:10).

Believers are finally called to have a zeal in contending for the faith (Jude 3), a zeal for the Word (Psalm 119:11, 14, 16, 35, 111, 162; 1 Peter 2:2), a zeal for righteousness (Matt. 5:6) and a zeal for the saints (Col. 4:13). How do you measure up? How would you rate yourself on zeal? The Lord gave us His Son, so the least we can do is give Him everything passionately. Be accurately zealous for the Lord today.