Fire

Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3:1-3)

God revealed Himself to Moses through a bush that was on fire, but was "not consumed." Fire is often used in Scriptures as a sign of God's judgment and wrath, for example in 2 Peter 3:10:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Or in Isaiah 33:14:

The sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the godless:
"Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"

God promises us that all wickedness, all evil in this world will be destroyed, will be burned up and consumed.

As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:40-42)

And yet, as gold passes through the fire refined and purer than before, there is something that will remain after this terrible judgment. There is a goodness, a purity, a love that cannot be destroyed by the fiercest fire. And God Himself is this goodness, this love. So when He wanted to reveal Himself to Moses, He came in a burning bush--a bush that was ablaze, but not consumed. The fire could not harm the bush, could not change it, no matter how hot it burned. So it is with God's goodness.

And so it is with us, when we trust in Him. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fire in Babylon for refusing to worship the king, their bodies could not be harmed by the fire, for Jesus was with them (Daniel 3:19-29). As God promised those who trust in Him, "When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (Isaiah 43:2).

So, in Christ, we need not fear the fire of God's refining power. We need not be as the "sinners in Zion" who tremble in terror. His fire is terrible, awesome, fierce, consuming. "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God" (Deut. 4:24). And if we cling to idols, if we hold onto those things in our life that will one day be destroyed, we can be sure that this fire will consume us as well. But as we lose our lives and find them in Him, when Jesus comes to baptize us with the fire of the Holy Spirit, we will emerge purer, holier and stronger than before.

Jesus longed to set our hearts ablaze with love for Him, and rid the world of wickedness. "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (Luke 12:49). He longed with a frightening fury to rid us of that cancer in our lives that prevents us from loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. He considered no cost too high to buy us this freedom of loving God wholly and completely. If it took losing an eye, gouge it out! If it took losing a hand, cut it off! No sacrifice was too great--even if it took Him losing His own life.

Let us consider the price He paid to buy us this pure and holy love, that though ablaze in passion for God is never consumed. Let us bring down the walls we build to keep God from the inner parts of our lives, and in holy, sweet surrender allow His fire to set us ablaze for Him, with all our hearts and all our selves. Even if it costs us our lives, as it cost Him His, let us embrace this baptism by fire that forges us anew in love with our Creator and Redeemer.

Refine us, Lord. Give us the treasure of loving you fully, no matter the cost.

May our words, our thoughts, our deeds and our lives all reflect the blazing glory of the Son of God, whom the fires of hell could not consume, but who rose again in power and majesty, to be worshiped and loved and enjoyed by His people forever.