March 22, 2004

[Kidan]

Quote[/b] ]Did not our heart burn within us . . . ?
—Luke 24:32

Quote[/b] ]We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart—a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart—unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.

Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don’t allow it to have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay forever on the "mount of transfiguration," basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9 ). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him at that point, no matter what the cost.

We cannot kindle when we will The fire which in the heart resides, The spirit bloweth and is still, In mystery our soul abides; But tasks in hours of insight willed Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.

 

[Kidan]

Tell me, is it better to have a blazing all-consuming fire, that's innately bright and large or a small long-lived flame, that is bordering on an ember?

The answer of course is what your needs are.  To warm you up fast, the large bonfire is the answer, but to warm you up lastingly, the ember is what you want.

Huge fires are consuming things, they burn up, and go away rather quickly.  It's the embers that allow for the true lasting warmth.  Yet when we've faced the huge fire, the embers often seem lacking.

This is the problem with emotionalism as a means to acheive Christianity.  I've seen hundreds of people approach the alter during a church meeting, propelled by the emotional chain-yanking of the preacher. There was crying, laughing, giggling, all those high-flaming emotions.  On Sunday night.  By wednesday, there was the usual ammoral behaviour.  

Why? Because the emotional high wore off.  Rather than cultivating a small flame that would sustain the person throughout their life, the pastor in question built a huge bonfire, that left people lacking when they walked away from it.

As Christians, we should be striving to convert people, not by emotional blackmail or emotional euphoria, but by a life-changing relationship with their Saviour.  As Christians, we should be striving to keep  the flame alive, and while occasionally it's natural for the small flame of your relationship to burst into a huge fire,  be sure that it's just God, doing a little house cleaning on your soul and not just the next emotional high.  For if just an emotional high, when the fire banks, and it will, you'll be left cold, and desiring the next emotional high, not desiring the close walk with Him that the ember provides.


So today think about your life, and the type of fire you want to have.
The slow steady ember, that is constantly there, warming and loving and that you can be close to. Or the fast burning bonfire, that quickly burns out, and you find yourself too far away to draw warmth and love from the remaining embers.