My eyes feel quite a bit better and though I’d prefer to not actually write this right now, I don’t want to let it slip from my mind as it continues to wander in front of our fire. I’m currently sitting in my parents’ living room with the lights off and my feet on the mantle of our fireplace…I’d say it is a fake fireplace but it’s real. In fact, much of the whole thing is quite real. The logs are real even though they don’t burn on their own. The fire is definitely real although it’s source is not found in and through the logs, but by a controlled system of gas underneath. This fireplace isn’t set up to burn real wood although it is a fireplace so I could technically do so. Regardless, I am lounging here watching it intently for a number of reasons. 1. The T.V. in our house is usually on which means the fire is usually left on “pilot” which is a fancy name for meaning that it’s ready to ignite at anytime…but waits for the owner to take a little action…
2. My eyes hurt…well, at least they did when I started! I’m pretty my head and eyes were just tired, sore and in a dull pain from all the light- the fake light I’ve been around lately. For instance, staring at a computer long enough will give you a bit of a head ache…that’s the kind of dull pain I am talking about!
3. I LOVE FIRES!!!!
4. I’ve learned more about life and perspective by watching fires throughout my life than probably all of the classes I’ve ever taken combined…I don’t know how to effectively weigh that, but I think it might just be true
5. Fires sooth my head and heart…
The first thing that caught my attention as I sat down was that the source of my pain and the source of my being renewed both came from lights. However, the difference was between natural light and man-made light. It makes me wonder how many times I’ve tried to be a “light” on my own strength in the past and have ended up hurting others through my strivings…even if what I was doing was good! I wonder how many times I tried to force bringing light on a subject only to give people a clouded mind, a headache and a confusion of the truth…
On the other hand the natural light soothes me and my eyes alike. I find that I can stare at a fire for hours, even days, and I feel as though I would get exponentially better. I can’t think of a time where the light of a fire hurt my eyes. Maybe that’s why we can so easily think of it as being “soft.” Have you ever touched fire before? First of all it would just dance around your palms and second of all it would scorch you if you forced yourself to keep it near the coals. However there is a softness and gentleness to it’s fury. Either way I wonder how often in my life I’ve been used naturally to help soothe someone and their eyes. I wonder how often I’ve been used to calm a mind and give perspective without having to force a thing. How about you?
My second question that ran through my mind was: What is the purpose of a fireplace with fake logs inside a house?
Well, I think control has to be the number one answer. My guess is that very few, if any, actually heat a house with a “fake fire” even though you definitely will feel some heat from it. I doubt anyone uses it as their primary source of light when the sun goes down but that too is a possibility because it does shed light. I’d venture to say that most people leave the pilot light lit and only “stoke” it when they are feeling particularly cold, lonely, romantic or just because they haven’t for awhile.
Yes, I think the reason must be because it is easy to control. the logs never fully burn although they are set up to look like it. The fire is never too big that you have to worry about it being spread. The gas can be turned on or off and up or down to control the size of the flames. The whole thing is set up indoors so that it can be controlled in the privacy of your living room where it won’t affect anyone outside and it won’t be affected by anything outside (rain, snow, wind, whatever.) It’s a good thing to have when you feel like it’s needed but realistically it sits there most of the time neglected.
For those of you who call yourself Christians (and I too am checking my own heart) I ask you what the source of your light is? Is it natural? Is it man-made? I also ask you if you have set your life up like this fake fire I’m watching now. Is there a small piece of you that you make sure to keep burning for God so that when you are particularly cold, lonely or romantic that you can turn it up a bit? Do you try to control the size of the fire to make sure it doesn’t affect anyone else too much around you? Are you afraid it will scorch someone if you let it go? Do you make sure that you keep it inside so that it won’t be effected by the outside weather (what people may think, say, do or view you as?) Do you think God is a good thing to have when you feel like you need Him but realistically you live a life that neglects Him most of the time?
If so, I have some encouragement, a warning, a result, a test and a challenge for you!!!
Encouragement: Do you not know that fire is real? Haha, the fire is still fire even if those logs aren’t burning! That sounds so simple but there is a good chance that if you aren’t burning for Him right now, He’s still burning all around you and wants to consume you with His presence. That’s good…real good actually!! The spirit of God is an all consuming fire and His flames are the source of true, natural light and thankfully they don’t depend on our wood!!!
Since it’s the day after Thanksgiving, I’ll give you a 2-for-1 with the encouragement!!! You may be feeling His warmth around you from time to time but there is a yearning inside of you to be consumed with Him from the inside out. Bad news is that you can’t do it with that petrified wood of yours. Good news is that He wants to take your heart of stone (that can indeed heat up) and exchange it with a heart of flesh…Basically, He can switch His heart for yours!! Another way to put it is that I could take these logs and switch them out with real ones…one by one…until the entire fire is actually consuming the real logs.
Warning: Doing this hurts!! He will bring all sorts of things into and through your life which will at times make you feel like He is forsaking you. It won’t be easy and it won’t be neat. The logs you have are filled with soot and are things you probably aren’t completely sure right now that you want gone. This process forces you to cry! Having a heart of flesh will make you feel again and most of us have tried to numb at least one area of our heart before because it just hurt too much!!! Regardless, He needs to bring it back up so that He can deal with it, heal you of it and then redeem it…This will be the time when you will be suckered into wanting to count the cost…DON’T It will cost all you have, but the value in return is better than you could imagine!Result: The result is that your heart and His fire become unified. Yes, He will burn through you and through your life will come warmth, light and peace. It will also light anything that is dry on fire and it will affect everything that is around you. It will make others sweat or even feel burned by just being around you or by getting you too close. However, it will also draw people in and soothe them. It will inspire others to follow…
Test: So Benny, how do I know if my fire is man-made or natural and how do I tell if it is genuine or not? Good question 🙂 Well, this is the shortest and best way I can answer that question using our little fire…This “fake” fire continues burning from a supply of gas and not the logs. A campfire will continue burning through the logs. If you’ve ever been to a campfire then you’ll know that it takes quite some time to get that “campfire smell” out of your clothing. It seriously saturates everything you have and wear. It will even make you smell like it! (sidenote: if you haven’t been to a campfire call me and I will make one for you because that makes me sad and campfires make me happy.)
Just like the fire, we should smell the difference in our lives. We are made in the image of God and we often think of God as having 3 senses: sight, hearing and speaking (although most would believe that He’s rather quiet most the time.) Well, if we were 
made in His image it would be ridiculous to think that He doesn’t use His other senses (and may have more than we know of.) In the bible it talks about how worship is a fragrance…I suggest that worship is a lifestyle that brings Him praise and adoration in everything we do. Worship isn’t just sounding good during a part of a normal sunday morning service and this probably isn’t the time for my rant on what worship is. Regardless, if we are genuinely on fire then a life of praise ought to cover all that we go through, all that we say, all that we do and ALL THAT WE THINK ABOUT! This means we have to actually learn to take each thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (that verse wasn’t there just to memorize or sound ideal!)
made in His image it would be ridiculous to think that He doesn’t use His other senses (and may have more than we know of.) In the bible it talks about how worship is a fragrance…I suggest that worship is a lifestyle that brings Him praise and adoration in everything we do. Worship isn’t just sounding good during a part of a normal sunday morning service and this probably isn’t the time for my rant on what worship is. Regardless, if we are genuinely on fire then a life of praise ought to cover all that we go through, all that we say, all that we do and ALL THAT WE THINK ABOUT! This means we have to actually learn to take each thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (that verse wasn’t there just to memorize or sound ideal!) Challenge: The challenge is simple and terribly impossible. Are you willing to exchange your logs for His? If the answer is yes than expect that all you’ll be asked to do is love…Don’t put a lot of other fancy rules by it to complicate it or so you can measure how well you do it compared to others…or even to feel adequate in judging others in your “righteousness.” Just love. You were made to be loved and you were made to love. Are you willing to be loved? Are you willing to be love to those we don’t in our hearts like to love? Simple…yet devastating!!! You ask to change logs and be prepared feel like you’ve never felt so that you can love like you never loved…
