Sorry for the long-time-no-post. Moving will do that to you.
So yesterday I spent a day burning a brush pile. A big, old one. I, being a responsible person, watched the fire all day, making sure it didn't get out of control or light up the neighbor's yard.
I had a lot of time to stand and think. Two things went through my mind. The first of them was all those survival shows. Second was all those places in the Bible where God chose to represent Himself with fire. Those things combined into some interesting thoughts. So here are some ways how God is like fire.
Fire is powerful. Some might even say dangerous. And God, well "He's not tame, but He's good." (C.S. Lewis) God has terrible destructive power, which is not to be underestimated, just like a fire, or it will consume you.
We depend on fire for nearly everything. Those survival shows (even Survivor) talk about how fire is life. Cooking, clean water (boiling), warmth, protection, even transportation. Yet it's something we take completely for granted (until it isn't there). In the same way, we depend on God for everything, yet we take Him for granted as well.
Fire is very fickle. Fire is tough to get going. I started the brush fire in five places, and only one of them worked. Some of them were too wet. I needed wind (but not too much). I needed fuel. I had to babysit it all day, or it wouldn't work. Ok, God isn't like that. But our relationship with Him is. It is tough, like most relationships. If we let it, sin, laziness, or even busyness will take us away from God. It will put out that fire before we have a chance. We have to work hard at it, or it simply won't work.
