Infectious Passion

Several months ago, I was reading David McCullough's 1776, and I was struck by George Washington's ability to infect others with the passion that he had for independence.

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, a lawyer named Joseph Reed had a successful Philadelphia law practice. McCullough writes that Reed "had intended to ride only as far as New York [to accompany General Washington], but found himself so in awe of the general that he continued on to Cambridge to become Washington's secretary, despite the fact that he had made no provisions for his wife and three young children or his law practice. As Reed explained, Washington had 'expressed himself to me in such terms that I thought myself bound by every tie of duty and honor to comply with his request to help him through the sea of difficulties'" (p. 46, emphasis mine).

Now, I'm certainly not endorsing abandoning the responsibilities that you have to your spouse and family. But I am impressed at Washington's ability to take a cursory commitment of a few days and stretch it out to a commitment that would last several years. I don't think that it was simply Washington's charisma that caused Reed to think himself "bound." I think it was Washington's passion for "the cause." Washington believed in this cause with every fiber of his being. He, himself, had actually put everything on the line for the cause. So, when others rubbed up against such passion, every other endeavor seemed empty and hollow in comparison. How could they not be a part of this glorious mission?

Makes me wonder about the passion that I have for the cause of Christ? Am I so broken by the lostness and hopelessness around me that my passion for communicating the life of Christ is infectious to those around me? Not yet! But I pray that as I mature and grow, that my contagious passion will increase, as well!