On being “On Fire”: commentary on believers burning

If you are not familiar with “church talk,” being “on fire” or “on fire for God” is a phrase we use to say we are passionate about God and the things of God, that we have a holy fire raging within us. It is so commonly used that I am not sure people within church stop to think much about its meaning anymore. So for the church goers and for the ones outside the church, this is my interpretation. 🙂

It is that time of year when the plants are pruned, and crisp cuts plummet the drying and dead ends to the earth. The limbs lay in piles across the yard. Rocks are gathered in a circle, and a fire is started in the middle of them, behind the house near the trees and woods. It starts with a spark. A spark lights a flame, and the flame consumes. The piles of detritus fuel the flames; the holly’s make the flames hotter and higher. The roses, being freshly cut and less dry, soften the fire. Thick, chunky, tree limbs extend the life of the flame. The smoke rises, and the wind blows it, threatening to move the fire across the dried fallen leaves that are so decayed they are now a life-giving fertilizer to the soil underneath. I, in my tights, and brightly colored dress of plums, blues, pinks, and greens, dotted onto one another, and flat black shoes, look an oddity holding a blue hose pipe, ready to douse the spread of catastrophe at any moment.

However, the motion of the flash and flare of the glare burning mesmerize me. I think of being “on fire,” of the burning bush, on fire but not consumed, of Pentecost – Holy Spirit fire raging down, of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace, unburned with no smell of smoke. It has been a long time since I’ve sat by a fire and really watched it rage, continuously feasting, and not just smoldering. One can see why people become pyromaniacs. The fire is intriguing, alive, and fiercely dancing and calling me to join in its rhythmic motion. It moves, it roars – the heat sounding like a lion as it feasts on the dead. It glows red, orange, black, and yellow. The smell permeates the air – the smoke fills our nostrils so that no one notices the stench of my husband’s burnt hair. I breathe it in and out and in so doing, taste it, both bitter and sweet it is. This fire awakens our senses, and we realize that the combustion combined with debris and air cannot be trifled with.

A child of God is like that burning bush Moses saw – engulfed in a flame that never consumes the life-meat of Him in us but the dry and dusty-dead parts of our souls that need pruning, that hold us back from the goodness of Him. That which is alive in us remains conscious and like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in no way do we smell of smoke, instead we smell like the sweet fragrance that is Him.

If we are a people on fire, what does that mean exactly?

“Spirit filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They serve with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They hate sin with fierceness that burns. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the fire of God.” – Samuel Chadwick

Believers on fire glow.

The minute you set a fire in an uncontrolled environment, it makes itself known. It seeks to kill and devour everything in its path that it may not die. A child of God is aflame with a Spirit controlled fire – our bodies holy temple fireplaces. People should be drawn to the light that glows within that escapes every crevice and breath we take. The flames inside cannot be hidden. Walking luminaries we are.

Believers on fire kindle.

The fire inside of a believer can never be quenched. It only gives spark to and illuminates those in which the Spirit wind blows on – either to bring to life or to give over to death, because yes, a fire can cause a great stench if moved in the wrong direction. We are holy fire starters for “the least of these” – those desperate for death of self and life new.

Believers on fire consume.

We burn but we are not consumed, in that we live and die at the same time. Our hearts, minds, and strengths are ever stayed on His great love. Our actions are driven by the thoughts consumed with Jesus.

Believers on fire burn.

As the furnace within envelops self, the dead and sinful fuels the flame, and keeps it burning. Our hearts are scorched and so it is necessary that at times, we will sear others. Fire is not safe. The flame never leaves sin clinging on – it eats it and purifies us making our hearts clean, steadfast, and new.

Believers on fire radiate.

The fire blazing inside us goes on and on forever, never-ending, but sometimes we forget to stoke or fuel the flames and the fire burns dim – our lights small and our bodies cold. We must call the Spirit wind to blow hard and fan the embers still burning – prayer giving passion, raising the heat hotter, and more engaging, that the heat rises within us and spells over providing warmth for those who are dead and cold.

Today, let this post stoke the living fire within you and fan the flames higher that you may glow, kindle, consume, burn, and radiate.

If this kind of fire does not live in you, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to blow your heart aflame that you may know Jesus, my Savior and King.

photo credit (1): rabiem22 via photopin cc