I Peeked at a Soap Opera

Have you ever been around a fanatic? Don't they just put a splinter in your mind about whatever they are fanatic about?

These guys are really over the top "Dawg Pound" Fanatics.

There are food fanatics and all they talk about is food and how to prepare a certain dish and how a certain spice is so fantastic and where the newest, latest and greatest restaurants are located and on and on and on. Or there is the novel reader (lover). When you are around these people you will certainly hear about the latest book they are reading or the author they are currently enjoying and why. I find that when I am around fanatics, I usually give them a bad time about their hobby or passion but I enjoy listening to their passion and watching the pleasure on their faces as they rant about their favorite whatever. I even find myself considering being interested in whatever they are fanatic about. For instance, my wife has been into this soap opera and I hear her talking about this one dude who wears an eye patch and all of the antics that he is involved in and guess what? I find myself peeking at the recorded shows to find out what this eye patch dude is all about. Fanatics can be contagious I tell you.

This is the one eye dude on the soap opera.

My friend Josh is a ravid Denver Bronco fan(atic). Now that football season is beginning Josh loves talking about Denver Bronco football (never mind that they will be horrible this year :-). Each year he and I join a fantasy football league and after talking with Josh about his favorite team, I find myself wanting to learn a little more about the Denver Broncos (do not tell Josh I said that). His passion is contagious. As I hang around with Josh during football season, the Bronco Bug kind of piques my interest (I'm still an Arizona Cardinal fan).

Ok, here is the Bronco logo (just for Josh) - Go Cardinals!

So I came across this verse in Matthew 13 this morning and it caused me to think about how fanatics can infect our thinking. Here is what the verse says: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened." Matthew 13:33 Leaven is like a fanatic that piques your interest. If you are around the fanatic long enough, you end up investigating what is so enthralling about cooking, a restaurant, a soap opera or even the Denver Broncos. The leaven of their passion kind of gets into you. The Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus says, is just like that. As we are passionate about Jesus' Kingdom and as we are involved in people's lives, this leaven of heaven (like the rhyme?) will pique their interest and the questions will begin to come.

This is a picture of leaven permeating the whole batch of dough - like we should be at work, home, gym etc.

Now Debbie doesn't know that I have 'peeked' at the eye patch dude on her soap opera (well I guess she will if she reads this) but I have. Her enjoyment of this soap caused me to investigate. Josh doesn't know that I have this secret things for learning more about the Broncos but I do (I'm giving away all of my secrets). His passion for the Broncos has stimulated me. And so it can be at your work or the gym or the with the parents in your child's school or wherever you go. When you are a fan(atic) of the Kingdom of Jesus, it will ooze out of your life and fill wherever you are with the scent of heaven. Your words and deeds will expose your passion and others will be affected by it - even if they don't tell you. Just being a fan(atic) of heaven and being involved in your work place has an eternally positive affect. So put some Kingdom of Jesus leaven into the lives of those you hang out with. It will permeate them and they too will become passionate about your King Jesus. May our friends be filled with the leaven of heaven. I hope this was of some help to you.