A Solid Fire

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine, and puts them into practice, is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down and the streams rose, the wind blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine, and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  Matthew 7:24-27

As I write this word, I’m sitting around a camp fire, in Moab, Utah. The fire we built tonight lit easily, because of the dry, arid climate, but struggled to grow and stay burning for quite some time. As the logs continued to burn, they began to lean into one another, increasing the hight of the flames. Glowing coals built under the logs, rapidly intensifying the fire’s heat. 

A good coal bed keeps a fire burning. The fire builds on the heat in its foundation. If the fire dwindles, the coal bed keeps it lit. It is fuel to the fire… the fire’s foundation. The coals are like Jesus, and his Word, a solid foundation, keeping our faith aflame. 

The logs are like Christian community. Some logs are closer to each other than others, building flames off of one another’s fire. The logs close to one another are our close Christian community and accountability partners. When these close inner logs drift apart, the fire dies away. When they are close together, leaning and depending on each other, the flames grow. The logs on the outskirts of the fire are akin to outside Christian influences- pastors, mentors, church fellowship, etc. 

Matthew 7 discusses a wise man, who built his house on a rock and a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rock is a solid foundation for the wise man’s house. It does not fall when it is tested by the storms. In the same way, a fire with a strong coal bed, will not easily die out. 

When we build our faith in a solid foundation, a rich, bright, burning coal bed and when we surround ourselves with community, burning bright for Christ, logs lit aflame, our fires will not dwindle, they will grow. Romans 12:11 encourages us to “never be lacking in zeal”, to “keep spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”