A Burning Flame

A burning flame…that is what I am looking at as I type this blog. How many times in our lives have we heard the phrases about being “on fire” for something; to not want our “flame to go out?” “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”…sound familiar? There is so much more than that big bright reddish orange burning tongue. That’s the first thing to go out; the weakest part of the fire. I don’t want to just be a burning flame; I want to be the entire bonfire.

We need to learn the secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart – a heart that can go through anything.             – Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Let’s start with the deepest, hidden part of the bonfire…the inner burning of a log. My soul is where it all starts; deep down in the core of my body.

·         Fuel from the outside, like a small spark, and a thirsty dry inside makes the hottest fire.

                Our souls thirst for something.”As the deer pants for stream of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (Psalm 42:1-2) Some recognize they need the Lord, others just desire something, but they don’t know what so they try many things to quench the thirst. We need others to come and share their stories with us; we need that spark from somewhere beyond us to get things started.

·         The core keeps it going even when the visible flames die out.

                Many times we look for the visible things. We want to see things changing in our view, but that’s not always how God works. It’s easy to get discourage thinking that nothing is happening anymore. We need to remember in those times that our soul is still on fire even though the visual signs aren’t there.

·         The smoke carries beyond us and where we can see.

                As I type I am in the Philippines, next month I won’t be here anymore. I may never know how my impact here will continue when I am gone. “The wind blows wherever is pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.” (John 3:8) Smoke also confuses things sometimes and we need to use the eyes of our soul rather than our physical eyes.

·         The flame is the most attractive part; the attention getter.

                What is your flame telling others when they see it. How are your actions, words, etc being seen. Are you showing other Christ when they look at you? The old saying, “actions speak louder than words” is so true. “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) If I’m going to let my light shine, what is it illuminating?

·         Let’s not forget the oxygen which is unseen but without it the fire would be impossible.

                It’s easy to forget the unseen, but yet it’s so often the most important. We will never know the vastness of what the Lord is doing for, in, and through us. Genesis 2:7 talks about the first breathe of life, “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

                Take away the fuel from outside influences; take away the oxygen, what’s left to keep you going? Fellowship is so important to keep our strength. “The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.” (Leviticus 6:13) ” Every morning the priest had to add firewood to keep the fir alive; it was a daily process.

·         A fire needs to be controlled and tended or it will grow dangerous.

It is very easy for a small spark to quickly grow into a big problem. When things spark up in our lives we need to put them out quickly. S Corinthians 10:5 tells us to, “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Let Him handle things for they may quickly get bigger than us.

·         A fire burns away the small debris and garbage that’s around, leaving more room for the good and healthy life to continue.

That is what I desire; for the unhealthy life to be burned away leaving room only for the good and prosperous may grow; a burning flame that never dies.