Traditionally, faith is part of human life for many people, but as society develops, faith is being relegated to the back for some, and the way of life and false teachings by many pastors are undermining the legitimacy of faith. Christians are thus called to renew their commitment to the Lord and live religiously, spiritually and a life of integrity. 

In other words, Christians must have passion for the faith. If truly we believe that faith calls us to a life time encounter with the Lord of the universe, then we cannot enter that relationship with half-hearted passion or lukewarm attitude. Faith without passion is yet to come alive and passion alone is not faith, no wonder we have fanaticism and “worshiptainment” today.

How do we live with passion for the faith? Each believer must discover his or her Lord and Master and resolve to know him completely. We must make the Lord our all and be determined to surrender all to him and commit all to his guidance.

Once we get to this level in our relationship with Jesus, then we can employ some fundamental life principles and values such as responsibility, service to others, the spirit of joy and gratitude in our dealings and approach to life.

In our journey of faith, life is not an abstract idea. Our relationship with Jesus involves a dynamic interchange, as the Lord pours his life into us, we are strengthened and empowered to become better involved in the life of others.

We recognize that as the Lord works in our life, he also calls us to help in the transformation of the world, especially through the people we encounter.

Our service to others on the face of it is not a religious demand, it is a human action that everyone should have learnt growing up and within the confines of the home. 

What faith does is to make it simpler for us to understand that we are being responsible to God especially when our gesture is not reciprocated. Serving our brothers and sisters thus becomes our task in the continuing work of creation as we make life better for them and make life more liveable. The people of faith have a responsibility and faith makes the burden of this task worthwhile. 

The next life principle to practice is living with joy. Joy is one of the fruits of true faith. In fact, it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Lord gives us joy when we serve him diligently.

We feel a sense of joy in His presence, our outlook to life radiates joy and those around us experience the same joyful disposition. In our journey of faith, there are dark days but we are consoled in the fact that we are not alone. The reality that God is there every step of the way gives us hope and joy.  

People of faith cannot communicate faith if they are not happy. This much Pope Francis said in Evangelii Gaudium. If we are not joyful, we cannot present the gospel in a joyful manner.

We must allow the gospel to speak to our hearts and inebriate our whole being with joy, such that when we speak of Jesus and about Jesus, it is done with joy. A message delivered with joy is likely to be well received and have positive impact on the hearers. If you have passion for God, you will be joyful. 

Finally, the Christian must have a sense of appreciation. Whatever we do honestly and decidedly for God is possible only because he moves us. We must constantly remind ourselves that all good gifts come from God, therefore we must show appreciation for the ones bestowed upon us.

The first gift of God to us is 20th stuff of life, then the gift of his only begotten Son. These are gifts given to us gratuitously, we didn’t deserve it nor can we do anything to merit it, yet in his love and mercy He bestows them upon us. 

If we are grateful for these wondrous gifts, the treasures of God will flow into us. Our whole life will be filled with peacefulness and this in turn will attract others to us. Once we cultivate the spirit of gratitude, we see everything as gift, we are moved to use them well, appreciate them and share them with others. This is truly the Christian vision of life. 

We are grateful to God for the gift of himself to us and all the blessings we enjoy. We are also called to show appreciation to the people around us for the love and support we receive, for the hope they rekindle in us and for the beauty of life their presence brings to our life. These traits will not grow in us until we become intentional about them and truly desire them and cultivate them. 

Once we have these values or Christian principles in our life, then our faith is poised to become transformative, deliberative and delightful. Just look at St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Francis Xavier, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, Blessed Carlo Acutis among others. What else are you still waiting for?