There’s nothing sadder than when someone who used to be so passionate and exuberant about something extremely important to them loses the fire they once had, and becomes ‘just like’ everybody else. I ought to know. It happened to me.
I find it fascinating how if we really want something bad enough,we will often eventually get it. I don’t care what it is. If you persist in your pursuit of power long enough, you probably will get it. If it’s fame and fortune, you probably will get that too. When I was a 12 year old kid, my parents bought me my first motorcycle. I had pushed so hard and so long that eventually they caved, and I got my bike! Thanks Mom and Dad, you really didn’t do such a bad thing, imo.
When I was a young man in my teens and twenties, I wanted a really pretty girlfriend. Guess what? I had a bunch of them! Not that any of those relationships worked out in any way. You see, up until a certain point, looks mattered a whole lot to me. Too much actually. Things have changed quite a bit since those days of “Wine and Roses. Truth is, I hate wine, and roses are greatly overrated and overpriced as far as I’m concerned. I know a lot of women love these things, but in the end, if you don’t have real love, all you left with is a bunch of empty bottles and wilted petals all over the counter top.
Many people make getting married and having a family the highest of priorities in their lives. That is not a bad thing by any stretch. I did too, and I got it. I have a beautiful wife, three beautiful kids, and a pile of great memories. The thing is, when kids grow up, they sometimes decide they don’t like their parents anymore. They forget the good times, and play your mistakes over and over in their heads to the point that they can’t stand the sight of you. Or, they fall in love with someone and forget you ever existed. Oh well, that’s what you get for trying to raise them to have a mind of their own. Sometimes I envy families that belong to cult-like churches. It seems that being brainwashed has its advantages, especially when you raise your kids to be so naive that they will be perfectly content living in the bubble you created for them and will never stray.
I know, stop your whining. No problem. I guess what I’m getting at is if you somehow are able to stay focused on making serving Christ your first priority, you will experience the joy of knowing that you chose the greatest of roads to travel through life. Perhaps you gave up most of the things that people chase after in this life, and you find yourself struggling in ways that others who did not make serving Christ first priority are not. At times it’s a lonely road as well. After all, not a whole lot of people choose to cast off the trappings of this world and make treasure in heaven the greatest of priorities.
I can’t help but think of a friend who as a young man was full of faith and a fiery enthusiasm for serving Christ with all his heart, and strength and mind. He was truly an inspiration to me. As the years have gone by, it would seem as though even though he is still active in his church and still exhibits flashes of his old self every now and then, he seems to have lost something. He seems to have in some ways lost his will to really fight for what he believes in. He seems to have become content letting people believe the lies different churches foist upon their members, without really feeling the need to point out the folly of their ways. It were as though he had somewhere along the line got into a scrap with the wrong person, and gotten the crap kicked out of him, and never fully recovered from the episode. It were as though in some ways, his balls dropped off.
I’m hoping he still has them, it’s just they’ve shrunk a bit. Maybe, with a little exercise, he can ‘pump them up’ to the size they should be, perhaps even bigger! Though life can sometimes drain us of the passion we once felt, there is always the hope of regaining and rekindling the fire that burned brightly within us.
I ought to know. It happened to me!
Thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ for finding me and rekindling the fire which now burns brightly in my heart once again. Hopefully that fire will be contagious to others as well, especially my dear friend.
Praise be to God. Amen!
By Lucien Alexander Delean
Aka ‘Looch’
Sunday November 16th, 2025