FIRE!!!

Have you ever seen a forest fire?  Not just a little fire that burns in a fire-ring but a full out forest fire...They are terrible.  They are devastating. They consume anything in their path.  Not much good can be seen in a forest fire.  People lose their homes.  Animals die. Trees and wildlife are destroyed.  But after the fire is gone something happens - new life begins.  I've lived in Denver and had a chance to see areas ravaged by forest fires, and the aftermath is terrifying.  But I've also seen those devastated areas weeks and months later and they show signs of new life.  Little bits of green start to pop back through the charred mountainside.  Eventually, the forest replenishes itself and the vegetation grows back in.   But the thing that doesn't grow back as quickly are the weeds!  The fire kills the weeds and allows the good plants to grow back healthy and strong. 

The writer to the Hebrews says that God is a consuming fire.  I can't help but think of these forest fires when I read this verse (Hebrews 12:29).  Just like forest fires devastate the countryside - the consuming fires of God will destroy anything in their path, because a fire does not discriminate!  It will consume anything in its path.  The whole of chapter 12 deals with God's punishment and discipline.  God uses the things of this world to bring us back to him.  He burns off the weeds and our weaknesses with the devastation of these all consuming fires. 

Think for a moment about you own life - what fires are you going through right now? What things are burning around you?  What situation is God using to make you stronger?  As far as the eye can see there are small fires burning that are eating up the weeds in our world.  But God isn't only at work all around us - he's at work in us as well.  God is burning these fires right inside of us as well.  He's burning up our sinfulness and disobedience.  He's consuming our selfishness and developing a new character within us.  He's making us into his image bearers.  He's replacing the old us with the new person he's called us to be through his death and resurrection.  Because of Jesus' work on our behalf, these fires are not all consuming and devastating - they are bringing new life to us and to those around us. 

May God light a fire around us today.  May he burn off the weeds and the wickedness of mankind. May he nurture the new growth that is coming up all around us.  May he continue to take care of his people wherever they go. 

Lord today we ask that you protect us in the midst of these terrifying fires.  AMEN.