Rejecting Passion (Luke 7:33-35)

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children." (Luke 7:33-35 NASB)

Jesus had just chastised the men for their bully attitudes. They wanted to make the rules, but Jesus was having none of that. God is the Rule-Maker, and that's the way it is going to stay, He seemed to say. In these verses, He took it one step further. They didn't just have a bully heart, those men had a judgmental, critical spirit. Nothing suited them. 

When John the Baptizer came as a passionate yet humble, self-sacrificing man who was committed to fasting and the Word of God, he was criticized as one with a demon. He didn't wear fancy clothes so they accused him of being insane. When Jesus came as a Friend to Sinners, generous and kind to all, committed to loving all and bringing them to the Father, He was criticized as a glutton, a drunkard, and a low-life who spent time with the lowest in society. 

Neither man's approach to life suited them. These men were not crusading against a little fasting or a little wine. Today, they might be the ones who advocate "moderation in all things".  Moderation has its place, but they weren't really in favor of moderation, they were against passion.  They did not want to see the passion for God that filled John and Jesus, partly because it brought their lack of passion into sharp focus. This business of loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind requires passion. It requires a reckless kind of love that will do anything for the object of our affection. No sacrifice is too great, no task is too small for the one who loves God with this kind of passion. 

Is that how we love our Lord? Is that the kind of passion you have for the things of Christ? 

Today, pray that we and our loved ones will be filled with the no-holding-back passion for God that purifies and fill us with joy.