The other day my parents and I were talking about the film The Passion of the Christ.
In the middle of the conversation, a thought came to me:
We were Jesus’ passion.
He was so passionate about us that He was willing to endure the torture, the humiliation, the cross — all of it.
Then something interesting happened the very next day.
I was watching a YouTube video with Wesley Huff, and he mentioned that the original Latin root of the word passion actually means “to suffer.”
That hit me like a truck.
Because it made me realize something: the way we use the word today might be completely backwards.
Today we hear things like “find your passion.”
Usually what people mean is: find the thing that gives you a good feeling. Something exciting. Something that energizes you.
But if the original meaning of passion is "to suffer", then the phrase takes on a totally different meaning.
Maybe finding your passion doesn’t mean finding what feels good. Maybe it means finding what is worth suffering for.
That was the choice of Jesus Christ.
His passion—His suffering—had a reason.
You.
Me.
Every person who has ever lived.
And honestly, that thought stops me in my tracks.
That I was worth suffering for.
That you were worth suffering for.
What a loving God.
But it also made me wonder something.
Shouldn’t we live the same way?
Jesus told His followers to carry their cross. Not chase comfort. Not chase feelings. But to follow Him even when it costs something.
And yet today, we’re constantly told: find your passion.
But when passion is reduced to just a feeling, it feels… a bit shallow.
Feelings change.
Sometimes they change within days.
So if passion is just a feeling, can our “passion” change every week?
But if passion is something deeper — something meaningful enough that you’re willing to endure difficulty for it — then that’s different.
That lasts.
It’s something you stand on, even when the feelings disappear.