Maintaining Zeal

A four letter word, one of the few "z" words in the English language, zeal packs a power punch.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as "an eager and ardent interest in the pursuit of something."  We know how hard it is to maintain interest in anything, once we fall into a rhythm and interest sinks into rote and routine.  How to keep it "eager and ardent" is even more of a challenge.
Our model in zeal, of course, is Jesus himself.  The dry words on the pages of our New Testament do not convey the heat and humidity of Israel, nor the dust on the roads, nor the noise of the clamoring crowds looking for cures. Jesus could hardly find time to eat and pray.  He rose early to go to deserted places, and sometimes stayed up all night to lay himself before his Father and seek the grace and strength to continue his mission. He knows then, the plight we face in our own circumstances and encourages us allow him to guide us, strengthen us, and fire up our "eager and ardent" interest in whatever we are doing.
I think of Michelangelo, taking 25 years to paint the Sistine Chapel, or pounding away at a damaged hunk of Carrara marble until his magnificent David appeared.  Passion, zeal, hard work, determination, all yielded magnificent works of art.  Applied to our spiritual lives, these can yield holiness.
Bro. Rene