“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30
I remember as a teenager singing this song in church and feeling the passion seep into my soul. I loved being in church. We would visit people and I loved talking to them and witnessing. I loved serving the Lord. I had time as a young person to create this passion for the things of the Lord.
As a young person now is the time when you can develop a passion and stir your sense of duty for the Savior Who gave His all for you. Christ talked about a passion for the lost sheep in Luke 15:4. He did not leave the lost one but went to find the sheep. “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” Will we seek the lost?
Give me a passion for souls, dear Lord,
A passion to save the lost;
O that Thy love were by all adored,
And welcomed at any cost.
Pastor Tovey was born in Australia but moved to the States where he pastored several churches. He wrote this song when he was a young man of 26. I can just imagine him sitting at his desk having a passion for the lost in his city and saying, “Jesus, I long, I long to be winning men who are lost….”
Can we sing with him and gain a passion to see those around us turn in their hearts towards God and be saved? Imagine if we pictured each of those souls burning in hell. Wouldn’t that bring us passion? Following in Christ’s footsteps we need to be like him as Luke 19:10 shows us His mission here on earth. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Everywhere Jesus went, He was on the lookout for lost souls. His passion was to make sure people believed and had faith in Him. Walking like Jesus, we need to be on the lookout for lost souls, too.
Spend time asking God to give you a passion for the souls around you. Write their names and pray over them as well.