The Trouble with Fire

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10–13)

Once there was a very windy day in the town I lived in and subsequently there were often downed power lines and various other phenomena. It all came from the wind that had stripped away the life that had maybe existed, but there is something about the night when we were awakened to the fire burning bright right outside of our door. It was all at once scary and exhilarating. You see there is a chaotic feeling that comes from a fire whether it is burning under control or out of it. There seems to be a recklessness encapsulated in the flames and the wisdom that cannot be named. There is a help that we cannot access when we have been convinced that we deserve less than can be produced. Yet there remains the most of the freedom looking like those same flames. On the eyeballs of time flames have danced a path of destruction, but has it ever been more than fine? Maybe there is the moment where the purpose fit’s destruction seemed closer to refined? Who knows, oh well, but He does and no matter the removal there is redemption in it. We are being made into a new version of the life we are created to bring to the surface and surely the eras will be laced with the presence of His Spirit. We know by the fire He is here and so are we!

My sister and 5 brothers at one time stood with me on that porch as we watched our ivy hedges burn to the ground. In California we were young but impressionable and we did not go into the backyard for weeks after that electrical fire. Yet eventually the foliage came back stronger than ever and time made us forget that the fear had ever existed. Little did I know close to 2 decades later I would be facing the fire of losing my sister in a violent car crash. As unexpected as it was, we still appreciated the moment to come together as a family to celebrate her life together. Why do families only have serious conversations when a funeral happens? Hatchets then are buried and the embraces that should have happened a long time ago come bubbling to the surface and surely we are surprised. Attacking all of the turmoil that lurked just inside. What if we were people who did not allow animosity to hide in our hearts? Maybe we could produce without bitterness and not hold out hope that many others would experience destruction. The best kind that exists in the middle of chaos. One that we avoid when at all possible, but like eating the nasty vegetables is the best for us. Let us set the fires before the fires are set against us. I’ve always loved the thought we can strike while the iron is hot or make the iron hot by striking.

At her memorial service I declared that my sisters life would be a seed of fire that would sweep the nation. Her death would be the beginning of a wake up call for her family and as such we would be more determined to see God receive all of the glory from our lives. And to this day that word feels released over each of our lives.

The oldest tallest trees in the world are the giant sequoias that are found mostly in California. The create a natural cathedral where ever they grow. What seems the most fascinating to me is not their age (hundreds of years) or their root systems (shallow traveling from tree to tree) but the way they start to grow. Their seed cones are opened by the first fire that cleanses the soil and cause the cones to germinate and produce seeds that produce these magnificent awe-inspiring trees. That even these vulnerable natural structures are not afraid of the calamitous cycle that must happen normally without the regard that measures itself against many others. yet and still these mammoths exist and thrive through the storms, fires and chaos of life to become strong and ready to adapt to the ways that the grow the best. Outside, natural and free to be who they are. May the fire make us into who we are meant to be.

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