Rediscovering zeal

Editor’s note: This column was written by a member of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Shepherds Collective. For more information, visit sbtexas.com/networks/shepherds-collective.

When your dog ages, its energy and enthusiasm decreases. She no longer leaps off the couch and instead carefully stretches and touches down upon the floor. Treats don’t make her move like they once did. The days of sprinting, jumping up to your chest, and vigorously playing seem to be in the past.

For many of us, that’s not just our dog. It’s our devotion to Jesus.

Fifteen years into ministry, I sometimes think my passion for the Lord flickers like a wick burning the last of the wax. Where did the days of full-steam abandon for the Lord go?

At Passover, Jesus enters the temple and finds the worship corrupted. The sacrifices are overpriced and the people are being exploited. He makes a whip, drives them out, and overturns their tables. The Bible says, “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me,’” (John 2:17).

Jesus, among many things, is zealous. Zealous for the worship of His people. Zealous for the glory of His Father. Zealous for righteousness, good works, and justice. Zeal is like a pot of boiling water—it churns, bubbles, and rolls.

Why does it seem like seasoned Christians sometimes lack this godly churning—a zeal like that of Christ Jesus?

Pastor Josh Smith points out that godly zeal is built by three main ingredients: knowledge, passion, and action. Zeal begins with knowing God, then ignites in the affections and spills over into action. True knowledge of God shapes us. It presses on the heart until it stirs real affection. Those affections don’t stay contained. They compel us outward, moving us to act in obedience, love, and service for Jesus. Take any one of these ingredients out and zeal will flicker, but when all three are present, you will burn with a steady, godly zeal.

So why does it feel like the older our faith-age grows, the less zealous we become for Jesus?

My best guess is attention drift—the slow reallocation of our focus from Christ to lesser things. What’s the first thing you look to in the morning? News, social media, the to-do list, or God’s Word? Recall your last unhurried quiet time. How long ago was it? Do you have real connection in your local congregation with believers? Are you memorizing Scripture? Do you have a prayer life to speak of? If you compared the time spent with your attention on the Lord versus the time spent with your attention on reels and media consumption, which would take the cake?

Could it be that our zeal flickers because in our sin we have begun to value lesser things more than Him? Christ has become familiar rather than glorious to us.

So here’s my encouragement: Repent of lukewarm affections, commit to focus your attention on God, and actively pursue the ingredients of zeal. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be casual with my sin. I don’t want to be unmoved by challenges in the church. I don’t want to be flippant with pain or joyless in pleasure. I don’t want to be bored by the Great Commission.

Ultimately, we can’t manufacture godly zeal. The Scriptures indicate we must behold Christ until our hearts burn again. As we fix our eyes on Him—His glory, His mercy, His holiness, His cross—our affections are stirred and our lives are infused with zeal, even as our bodies, just like our dogs, slow down.