Passion – Spoken Word

This is a poem I wrote to share with my youth group at a church weekend away. It’s technically a spoken word piece so it may not completely translate in written form but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Maybe try reading out loud to yourself with dramatic pauses.

When I say passion, tell me, what springs to your mind?
Because you were designed and created to live passionately.
Every breath and step lived in a passionate pursuit of something.
Burning, yearning and always learning as your passion grows.
But who knows?
What is passion?

Some say that passion is a feeling you get
When you catch someone’s eye and intentions are set
To arouse their desire and completely forget
That you’re still only strangers, you’ve not even met.
The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye
That tells you that nothing else will satisfy
You can’t be rejected, you won’t be denied
I’m sorry to tell you that this is a lie.

Some say passion is something you like
A series of films or a new motorbike
It’s something that fills you and so by extension
You’re made whole because it has your undivided attention.
The problem is our interests will change like the seasons
Next time around we’ll find a new reason
Why something just didn’t seem to quite hit the mark
The light of passion goes out and we’re left in the dark.

Some of these thoughts aren’t far from the truth
But I did some research to try and find proof
That passion is deeper than all that’s been said
There’s a reason the colour of passion is red.

Check this out, the word passion comes from a word that means to suffer. Suffering is an unpleasant experience to say the least. Passion seems to give us eyes that see past the moment of suffering to something better beyond.

It’s about experiencing pain for the sake of something greater
Rejecting what’s good now to have the best later
It’s an anguish of soul that reflects the Creator
In the mirror of the human heart.
It’s a heart that’s on fire for what it beholds
Ablaze with desire to acquire the gold
Knowing not all that glitters is treasure
Ready and willing to put aside earthly pleasure

You see the passion of the Christ who was sent from above
Is not just a story of emotional love
But the suffering and pain that He had to endure
In the name of salvation and the joy set before
Him. The passionate One.
That’s right we’re made in His image
It’s not hard to see just try to envisage
Some play out their passion in contests and sports
Spending their passion on fields and in courts
We can spend passion but the exchange rate is high
There is a cost that we cannot pass by.

Passion for God is a whole-hearted pursuit
It’s suffering in sowing before reaping the fruit
It’s feeling so much of His heart that you know
The pain that He carries, it leads you to go.
It’s a flame that burns bright in the heart of His lovers
That won’t be content until they discover
A way to bring the gift of His love to the others
Who don’t know Him.

It’s a life poured out and a life laid down
It’s a life filled up and a falling crown
It’s a life of obsession and no compromise
It’s a life that sees the world through His eyes.
It’s a life that’s willing to lose to win
It’s a life that’s determined to let go of sin.
It’s a life that’s willing to put things on the shelf.
What’s the price of passion?
Simple, it’s everything else.

August 26th 2013