Fire. It destroys thousands of acres each year, it takes countless homes and lives, it is a force not to be reckoned with. Though it is not always a bad thing as we use it for cooking, heating, and sometimes as soothing light in a relaxing bubble bath or a romantic dinner for a loved one.

Whether it is destroying or aiding everyday life, nonetheless it is an incredibly beautiful element of nature. I love fire! I am not a pyro or anything, but there is something about watching a campfire that intrigues me. To watch it dance as it consumes the logs and lights them up like some sort of giant fire fly, it’s just amazing!

So this summer as I went to camp, I sat looking at the fire one night, I thought of how fire is so much like the Christian life. As I continued to ponder the parallel, I realized that so often I use the term “on fire for Christ”. Searching my heart for the true definition, I came to this conclusion:

Fire = our passion for Christ

In order for my fire to grow for Him, I have to feed the fire. How do I do that? I throw all my junk into it! My past, my struggles, my anger, all of it! It all has to go! The more I throw to the fire, the more I see Christ work in my life. I care less what others think and only live to please my Lord.

Yesterday I wrote a letter. It was to someone who abused me several times while I was a young girl. As I wrote I wept, bitterly and angrily. Oh I had not realized the baggage that I still carried! When I got home, I wadded up that letter and grabbed the lighter. I marched right to the burn barrel and lit’er up! As I watched it burn, I was reminded of this object lesson that had come to mind at camp.

The more that I throw to the fire, the more Christ consumes my life and the greater my passion for Him becomes. The real test is when will we make the choice to feed the fire? Allowing Christ to work in us only happens when we allow Him into ALL parts of our lives. Even the parts that we THINK we’ve left behind or shoved away. I used to think that the only ones who were strong in Christ were those who had perfect Christian homes and tons of opportunity and nurturing. I now know that even though they may SEEM perfect, they too have to feed the fire and they have plenty of junk to do so.

So my challenge to you is this: will you feed the fire?

2 Corinthians 12:8-10:

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”