Consuming Fire

Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.” Earlier this week we celebrated my eldest son Kyan’s 10th birthday with a barbeque. I love bbqs because I love the camaraderie. I love bbqs because of the tastey food. But I really love bbqs because I love fire. When I was 8 I got caught for lighting a match in school. 3 years later I got suspended for setting a paper towel on fire in science class. In the bible fire represents the Holy Spirit, so while some might say I was acting out, I prefer the interpretation that I was prophetically acting on a yet-to-be born fascination with the spiritual. Usually I have no problem firing up a charcoal grill, but damp kindling and a lack of lighter fluid had me stuck the other day. I burned countless pages of newspaper trying to get the charcoal to catch. I sat fanning the flame for literally two hours. To the untrained eye, there was almost no sign of progress, but eventually something just clicked and the pile of coal burst into flames. Last night at the online prayer gathering for my friend, one of his church leaders shared about another church member who had also gone into a coma some years back. The community came around him to cry out to God in prayer. Nothing really seemed to change, but after three weeks of contending and covering, he just woke up in what appeared to be a medical miracle. I sometimes struggle to answer when folks ask me how my friend is doing. Modern medicine would say that there’s no visible sign of progress. He’s still in a coma. There’s wet kindling and a lack of lighter fluid. But we know that persistent fanning of tiny embers of hope can lead to a spontaneous outbreak of the spirit. So while we submit our will to God’s, we also have faith for the supernatural. Lord, nothing is impossible with you. We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. We love you. In your son’s name, Amen.