Through triangulation, orienting ourselves not only by the universally accepted natural sources like science and archaeology, but also by God's Word-- incarnate in Christ and codified in the Scriptures, and additionally by present-day divine interventions, we ascertain reality. At the very least, when employed by a Spirit-led community that respects its own and other traditions, triangulation commends reality. And the God we thus encounter is great-- infinite, almighty, and surprisingly personal. His captivating personality demands our attention.

A wonderful kaleidoscope of passions is this God, and His expression of purity, justice, charity, and the rest effects not only our experiences in the requisite space-time continuum, but reality itself. Their interplay often inspires awe, but when our experience is abuse or genocide or birth defects or same-sex attraction or untimely death or environmental degradation, we're justifiably confused. Skeptical. Hostile.

The interplay of the infinitely great passions of an infinitely great God can certainly leave our finite minds spinning. His passion to be volitionally honored accepts the free-will potential for dishonor, evil, and suffering. His passion for reconciliation accepts the sacrifice of His Beloved. And the wonder of these individual passions finds amplification in their confluence. We're unlikely to fully appreciate, or possibly to understand, the great heart behind the great hand we encounter.

Nevertheless, a sovereign God's passions are expressed regardless of his creation's choices. Our role in and experience of those passions is at play, but their transmission is not. The soul out-of-sync with its Creator regrettably creates a context for the transmission of his passion for justice, purity, and the like. For the good of all, through what the Scriptures call the New Covenant, God tangibly demonstrates his beautiful greatness by calling agents and making His passions their passions.

What an honor it is to transmit God's great passions. Why hold back? What alternative is there? What other thing would ever be preferable at any moment in your life? Impeding the transmission of God's great passions is illogical. Embrace Him and the transmission of his passions. Go full-throttle.

Matt Chandler

Andy Stanley

John Piper

David F. Wells

Rob Bell

Relevant Magazine

Granger Community Church

Seth Godin

Donald Miller

Tim Keller

David Crowder

Brian McLaren

In the shadow of both New York City and Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley is a community of 700,000 people living in and around Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, PA, and Phillipsburg, NJ.

Although I don't present others' work as my own, I do occasionally present statistics, quotations, and other info without giving credit. If you need to know where I got something and can't find it using Google or Wikipedia for a few minutes, email me and I'll try to re-find it.