crikey

i woke up this morning to a text telling me that the crocodile hunter was dead. i kind of felt a bit strange. such an aussie icon. mind you, he made it big overseas before he did at home, i remember the first time i heard about him was on a trip to the states and everyone was all 'crocodile hunter, crocodile hunter'. now he's just famous everywhere. and has his own wildlife zoo up in queensland.
a stingray stab to the heart. there have only been 3 recorded deaths in Australia by stingray ever. and less than 20 recorded stingray deaths worldwide. that's a freak accident. all those dangerous things that steve irwin did and this is how he died. however, as one of his best friends wrote, he died doing what he loved.
if you have ever seen steve irwin in action, you would know that he is a passionate passionate (i did write that twice, it's not a mistake) man. he LOVED what he did.
i think what our world lacks is passion. we have become content to sit by and do what we like, when we feel like it, but do we ever really get passionate about things. ok, so there are some examples, like steve irwin, and last night i saw the movie (i forget - invincible?) about Vince Papale's NFL career, he had heart. and of course, there's nothing like a mad footy fan (it's september - go the crows). what makes people great at what they do is passion. i don't think i have ever seen anyone with a passive attitude really do anything amazing.
Jesus talked about passion, he said it was better to be hot or cold (passionately for him or against him) than to be lukewarm (if Jesus had been around today i am sure he would have used the word fence sitter).
i hope that not just at the end of my life, but at any stage during it, i could be described as someone who is passionate. passionate about God, my family, my friends and the way i live my life.
thanks crocodile hunter.