Fire

Oh the PAIN.

Ah the PURITY.

I now live in a place that allows open fires right outside. Try that in Philly! In Philly you cannot even have a live chicken without a business license and proof that it constitutes freedom of religion.

With this right comes self imposed responsibility. You need to understand how not to burn stuff you did not intend to, for example. You basically set and follow rules that are more detailed than the outside forces of law and community. Too bad people in general cannot be trusted to live life this way, huh?

When to burn stuff is not entirely your own decision. We have a signboard down at the volunteer fire station. It tells whether open fires pose a low, moderate or high risk. Wind conditions are a factor, as is lack of moisture in the ground. For example, a season of rain making everything grow tremendously, followed by weeks of no rain and lots of sun makes for lots of random kindling.

In 2009, Kim rescued me from urban Philadelphia. The loud cheering for that event still echos. Here on the ranch we had a circle burned into the ground. It was filled with buried debris (thank you spell check!). Stuff that even the hottest fires did not turn to smoke and ash.

It took until last fall to get all the debris into the trash. Mostly of it was stuck in the ground. After I would remove an exposed layer, rain would expose more until finally the last of it was gone.  Kim seeded the area with grass. It is growing nicely this spring and soon you will not be able to find the old burn site.

Not everything went into the trash. There was now and again something of value, for example, coins.

The Bible uses fire as a metaphor for destruction. We use fire here to eliminate the unwanted. Not every unwanted thing goes to be burned, only the chosen qualify. We pay directly for trash pick up and there is a weekly (though generous) limit on the number of bags. Stuff that it is safe to burn gets put into a pile in the garage safe for the elements. Then the time come when it gets burned.

Burning makes life easier all around and is kind of fun. Some things we burn have metal as well, like nails. After the burning, the metal gets to go to the scrap yard for dollars.

The Bible uses fire as a symbol of life's pain. Pain sometimes is the burning away of the unwanted- leaving only that which is of value behind. This process of God's is also copied by humans in refining metals such as gold; it is used to make steel; it is used to make pottery; it is used to make bread.

This pinpoint, controlled destruction is used by God and man to create change with higher purpose. The intended result is something that has more value.

As we walk through fire at times in our lives, we do not like it. We question why it is happening. Many times that which is being destroyed is something we were emotionally attached to. Sadly, most of these open fires in our lives are the consequence of bad choices. There is only destruction with nothing of value as an end result. Pain because we deserve it with nothing of value afterward.

In the midst of pain, we should hope that we are being changed to something of more value. We should look forward with anticipation as a child does to an unopened present under the Xmas tree.

It is the only way, the only process, bread always comes from an oven.

Growth can come through painless means as well- plant good seed, water diligently, reap the benefit. But in order for this process to work, there must be no dross that impedes growth. Flowers rarely grow well, if at all, in debris. For our lives to smell pleasant, God sometimes needs to first burn away the impediments. The impediments can be known by their stench. Once burned, after the smoke has cleared, the stench is gone and new growth can be started leading to unimaginable wonders.

Love someone well today,

Bobby