I’ve always thought fireflies were so cool. Against the dark backdrop of deep woods in my backyard as a kid I remember the fireflies appeared with their gorgeous little glow. I looked it up and found that “Fireflies are nocturnal members of the Lampyridae family. The name comes from the Greek ‘lampein’ which means to shine.” Interesting. They have what appears from a distance to be a little fire inside their belly. Even kids who don’t like insects seem to be attracted to these flying fires. They seem to move in clusters. It’s a picture of the Church as burning lights shining in a dark world.
Primal element
Fire captivates the human race and always has. It is both dangerous and beautiful. A fire can be the means for our survival in the cold, and it can be the means of our death in a house fire. We are drawn to fire. As kids—I did, at least—we play with fire, which is a really bad idea. One time I started a fire in the woods that got so out of control the firefighters needed to come and put it out. If there’s a fire raging in a town, people start migrating to see it. All around the world people sit around fires to keep warm and to socialize. Fires are used to prepare food—like pizza! Fire has a way of purifying things, like silver and gold, separating out the dross (waste). Fire can spread very quickly and be hard to put out. But also, fire can die if not stimulated.
Metaphor
It’s no wonder that Scripture employs this primal element of the human experience as a frequent metaphor. It is familiar to everyone. The Lord actually uses it in more than one way. For example, He uses it as a symbol of purifying.
so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7).
It is also used as a symbol of divine judgment, with ultimate judgment being described as a “lake of fire”.
Consuming desire
What I want to talk about though is how fire is used in Scripture as a symbol of consuming spiritual desire. We are given pictures of fire early on in Scripture like fire used in the sacrifices made by Abraham, the raining down of fire upon Sodom, and perhaps the most famous picture: the burning bush that appeared to Moses.
And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed (Exodus 3:2).
One of the things Moses realized was that divine fire could be upon something that normally is consumed by fire. A bush is a small humble thing. It is easily consumed. Maybe the point was that the fire of God can dwell with the humble?
What does come through clearly throughout Scripture is fire being a symbol of the inner intensity of desire men and women have to know God.
Desire is fluid
Desire isn’t something we either have or do not have. There are levels of intensity. We see this in natural things. For example, not everyone possesses the same desire for ice cream, or the newest iPhone, or the new Ford Bronco. Desire is fluid; it ebbs and flows; it is infinite. If desire could be measured, God’s desire for His glory and the good of all His creatures, could not be measured. Selah.
On fire
In Christian circles, across denominations, certain people who possess a strong passion for the Lord are described as “on fire”. The fire is not at all a self-generated quality. It comes from above. It is both sparked and sustained by the Divine Fire—God is described in Scripture as “a consuming fire”. The birth of the early Church, described in Acts 2, was described as the coming of tongues of fire which rested upon each one of them. Jesus promised that He would baptize us in the Holy Spirit and fire. The disciples on the road after talking with Jesus said to each other, “did our hearts not burn within us when he spoke to us on the road?” John the Baptist was described as “a burning and shining light.” Isaiah prophesied a day was coming when a spirit of burning would be manifested. Jeremiah said—
If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot (Jeremiah 20:9).
The way the Lord uses the metaphor of fire is complex. The Jeremiah verse, for example, denotes a spiritual intensity of the Word so strong within him that he could not contain it. But that word within was also the word of judgment fire. So the Lord uses them in ways that connect.
When fire falls
The Lord, at times, seems to infuse the heart, by the Holy Spirit, with a momentary taste of desiring God in a way that our frail bodies cannot handle. Paul spoke of being lifted into the third heaven. John saw an apocalyptic vision on the isle of Patmos. Isaiah was purged by a burning coal of fire. The infusion of spiritual fire is always connected to a wondrous vision of God. I think just coming near to God—who is a consuming fire—results in setting the heart on fire. I believe when we worship around the throne in eternity that every heart will burn with holy adoration.
There have been times in my life when I’ve been awakened to the reality of God. These once in a great while encounters with the Lord have shaped me. They have put the fear of God in me and have multiplied my desire to know Him. They have forged conviction in me that Christ is real. They have purged me to the core of my being. I’m not just talking about getting weepy listening to a worship song, or feeling goosebumps. But there are God-appointed moments when the Lord visits us. He takes everything we know of Him through His Word, and through our experiences of Him, and He brings it all together in a united glimpse.
The best word to describe what is happening in us in these moments is “burning”. Somehow—don’t ask me how because I don’t know—the Lord makes us feel His burning heart. I have a good measure of desire for God always, but during those moments, the desire is like a raging fire. The body can scarcely handle it. The inner chambers quake and tremble. Weeping is more like profuse heaving. When the raging fire subsides we realize we are altered. A good sized fire is burning in us but not so raging that we can’t stand, talk, walk, go to work and function—ha.
Fire attracts and spreads
This fire that God puts within us spreads to others. People who have this touch of fire, touch others. This fire attracts. John Wesley said, “I set myself on fire and people come and watch me burn.” The Apostle Paul certainly had this fire burning in Him for God, and it seemed to burn perpetually. I think of men like Philip in the Bible, or Apollos, who spread fire through their preaching. I think of Billy Graham preaching in the 1950’s—fire! I think of Catherine Booth, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, David Brainerd, Ravenhill, Tozer, William Seymour. I think of all the martyrs through history with raging fires of devotion even in the face of death.
Fires die
Paul said, “do not quench the Spirit’s fire.” Fires can fizzle and die. So we need to keep putting wood on the fire, as the priests did in the Old Testament to keep it burning.
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out (Leviticus 6:12-13).
Fresh fire
I’m saying all this today to encourage you to pursue fresh fire. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about because you’ve had multiple encounters with this divine fire. You know how profoundly it alters you. You know the boldness to share Christ that results.
Others may have not yet experienced this fire I’m talking about. That’s okay. Hopefully, I haven’t scared you and now you’re thinking, “I definitely don’t want that fire touching me”. No, you do. It is pure goodness. It can be overwhelming but in the 100% positive sort of way. It does purge us and undo us, but, it’s an answer to 1000 prayers in a single moment.
I leave you with a hymn called Send the Fire written by William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army.
Thou Christ of burning,
cleansing flame,
Send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift
today we claim,
Send the fire!
Look down and see
this waiting host,
Give us the promised
Holy Ghost,
We want another
Pentecost,
Send the fire!
God of Elijah,
hear our cry:
Send the fire!
To make us fit
to live or die,
Send the fire!
To burn up every
trace of sin,
To bring the light
and glory in,
The revolution
now begin,
Send the fire!
‘Tis fire we want,
for fire we plead,
Send the fire!
The fire will meet
our every need,
Send the fire!
For strength to ever
do the right,
For grace to conquer
in the fight,
For power to walk
the world in white,
Send the fire!
To make our weak hearts
strong and brave,
Send the fire!
To live a dying
world to save,
Send the fire!
O see us on
thy altar lay
Our lives, our all,
this very day,
To crown the offering
now we pray,
Send the fire!