Zeal, as a passionate enthusiasm, is a virtue we must embody in our pursuit of God and His way. Are we giving our all for Christ and the life God has revealed to us? Are we truly zealous for the Kingdom of God? As Paul writes in Galatians 4:18, it is good to be zealous always in a good thing, expressing enthusiasm and fervor toward godly purposes and what God wants us to do. Yet, our culture often dismisses zeal, viewing it with cynicism or suspicion, labeling the zealous as fanatics or idealists who are out of touch with reality. Despite this, as followers of Christ, we must have fervor and wholehearted enthusiasm for Him, for God's righteous way of life, and for the Kingdom of God. Does thinking about living God's way fill us with ardor? Does the prospect of the Kingdom motivate us to act as God desires? Jesus Christ Himself warns against a lack of zeal in Revelation 3:14-19, rebuking the Laodicean church for being lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, and urging them to be zealous and repent. This lukewarm, complacent attitude—indifferent and unexcited—is opposed to everything zeal represents. The Head of the church is not satisfied with such a lack of commitment and desires fervor for the Kingdom of God. A lack of zeal is a sign of underlying sin, making it not just a matter of emotion or personality, but of righteousness, and thus especially important.

In Jesus Christ's letter to the congregation at Laodicea, He expresses deep displeasure with their lukewarm attitude, noting that they cannot be described as zealous for Him or His way of life. Instead, Laodiceans are enthusiastic about being rich, becoming wealthy, and needing nothing, directing their focus and drive toward material gain with ambition and aggression. However, Christ considers their zeal to be misdirected at ill-considered goals, as they labor for perishable things rather than enduring spiritual values. Toward God, they are essentially apathetic, showing no feeling, which Christ cannot stand, hating the indifferent middle ground they occupy between Him and the world. He would rather they be ice-cold than tepid and lifeless, and He is ready to reject them because their lack of love for Him is evident in their absence of zeal for His way. Yet, He urges them with love to be zealous and repent. Zeal, derived from the Greek word zēlos, signifies intense heat or passion, akin to boiling or glowing with fervor. It embodies ardor and intensity, contrasting with indifference, and can manifest as holy fervor for righteousness or good deeds, hostility and ill will, human jealousy, or devotion and enthusiasm to attain goals. Overall, zeal represents intense effort and emotional energy focused single-mindedly on a goal, an emotional drive present in everyone, directed toward various passions or pursuits. As such, all are zealous in some form, but the challenge lies in ensuring that zeal is properly motivated and directed toward God, His way of life, and His Kingdom as the paramount focus.

The apostle Paul, driven by gratitude for God's calling, devoted his life to zealously serving God by preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. His zeal embodied holy fervor, coupled with an enthusiastic pursuit of the Kingdom of God and a deep devotion to Christ, motivating all his works. Similarly, the zeal of biblical figures like Moses, Joshua, Caleb, Phinehas, David, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel reflects their complete commitment in service to God, often enduring martyrdom with remarkable faith and self-sacrifice. Zeal, as described in Scripture, is not inherently a virtue but rather the energy, motivation, desire, conviction, and confidence behind virtuous acts. It represents the attitude and feeling that propel us to perform righteous deeds to please God. Within the practical teachings of Romans 12, zeal is essential in fulfilling godly behaviors, urging us to engage in every act wholeheartedly with singleness of focus and perseverance. Whether continuing steadfastly in prayer, showing love without hypocrisy, or restraining pride in personal opinions, each action should be performed with fervent zeal as a response to God's grace. The essence of zeal is captured in Romans 12:11 as not lagging in diligence, being fervent in spirit, and serving the Lord. Negatively, zeal avoids laziness and sluggishness, instead being active, intense, and tireless in accomplishing tasks. Positively, it is a passionate, ardent, and enthusiastic drive to achieve godly goals. Ultimately, the purpose of zeal is to serve the Lord, fulfilling His desires for us, His church, and His Kingdom, as Christ redeemed us to be a special people zealous for good works, as stated in Titus 2:14.

The zeal of Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry was marked by an unyielding enthusiasm for God and His way of life, fueling all of His efforts. Wherever He went, huge crowds sought Him for healing, and He tirelessly met their needs with unflagging energy to do the will of God. Even when exhausted, as seen in His encounter at the well in Sychar, doing God's will revitalized Him, preparing Him to preach to the entire city for two days. Jesus expressed His urgency in John 9:4, stating that He must work the works of Him who sent Him while it was day, determined to finish the job the Father had given Him in the short time allotted. In contrast, the zeal of the Jews, exemplified by the pre-conversion Saul of Tarsus, was a negative, destructive passion full of hostility and ill will, directed against their Savior and His church. Saul, as a Pharisee, was zealous in persecuting the church, a misguided fervor he later regretted deeply. However, after his dramatic encounter with God on the road to Damascus, his heart changed instantly. Following his baptism, he immediately preached Christ in the synagogues, transforming from the church's chief persecutor to its most fervent advocate. His zeal never wavered, as he tirelessly preached the gospel across cities and regions, driven by a profound gratitude for God's calling and grace, feeling bound to give his all to God.

Christian zeal is an earnest interest, desire, and pursuit of all that pertains to God, His way, and His Kingdom. It begins with an interest in the things of God, grows into a desire to understand them deeply, and culminates in fervent pursuit. Zeal is not merely a feeling about God and godliness; it must combine with understanding and motivation to spur action. True zeal is a complete process from emotion to action, and if it halts at any stage, it fails to be genuine, godly zeal. It stands in stark contrast to the complacency of the Laodiceans, who direct their zeal toward material things rather than God, failing to respond to Christ with meaningful action in their lukewarm state. Zeal acts as a spiritual energy that motivates Christians to do God's will, enhancing each Christian virtue with intensity and value. While not listed among the fruit of the Spirit, godly zeal profoundly amplifies love, joy, peace, patience, and faith. For instance, zeal transforms agape love into compassionate love, as Christ demonstrated when His feelings for people's lack of knowledge or pitiable conditions moved Him to heal, teach, and serve them with fervent action. In John 2:13-17, Christ's zeal is vividly displayed during the cleansing of the temple, where He drives out merchants and moneychangers with a whip of cords, declaring they should not make His Father's house a place of merchandise. His actions reveal a consuming zeal for what He loves—God's honor, dignity, and holiness—and against what He hates—the defilement and fraud in the temple. This zeal, though passionate and angry, is deliberate, as He takes time to make the whip, indicating thoughtful consideration of His actions and their consequences. His disciples recall Psalm 69:9, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up," recognizing that His zeal for God completely consumes Him, blocking all else from His mind as He upholds God's honor with single-minded intensity. This zeal also signifies that Christ's fervor for God would ultimately lead to His death, setting Him against religious leaders from the start of His ministry and foreshadowing later conflicts. Additionally, it reflects that His zeal for God consumes His life, driving Him to pour every ounce of strength into fulfilling His mission from the Father, spending all His time and energy preaching the gospel and doing good until His final breath.