"Translate now (O my soul) all this into spirituals..." ~Robert Boyle
Yesterday, as I was trying to revive a rather dead fire in our cabin's wood stove, I began to think how frustrating it is when a fire just will not start
And then I thought, "Why do the fires that we don't want to start turn into wild fires and the ones that we're coaxing to life sputter out if we simply blow too hard?"
Then, because of the inspiring book "Occasional Reflections" by Robert Boyle, I began to think of how this applied to the Christian life.
Romans 7:15 & 19 came to mind:
"For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do...For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."
How true it is, that the fires we want to start, like an earnest desire for God's Word or a passion for the lost, take so much nurturing and work, while the things we don't want in our minds spread like forest fires.
And what about the effects of these fires?
A forest fire can destroy completely, leaving behind death and destruction, while the fire brought about through hard work and perseverance provides heat, light and food.
It's amazing to think about the comparisons.
But what's more amazing, is the fact that, most of the time, we can't see how anything good would come from a forest fire or a corrupted mind
But God can.
In His time and by His handiwork, the charred land can bear even more beautiful foliage, and the heart and mind, when cleansed by God's holy fire, can bear a more beautiful testimony of God's salvation.
Joshua 1:9
