Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Faith, Hope and Love Fuel the Fire of the Kingdom

Fire is a powerful force, one that the scriptures frequently incorporate to indicate the presence of the Almighty. Abraham prepared an altar for a fire to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22); the Israelites followed a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21); an angel touches Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal to purify him for the task of prophesying (Isaiah 6: 7-13); Moses encounters God in a burning bush (Exodus 3:2). Many indigenous peoples incorporate fire as a cleansing part of their spirituality, through smoke and incense and sweat lodges. Fires cleanse grasslands of accumulated dead and decaying growth, and fires rejuvenate forests as part of the natural process of fostering new growth. Visiting a forest or a grassland immediately after a fire is a stark reminder of the power of fire, but returning a year or two later and seeing the incredible recuperative force of the earth to refresh itself through wildflowers and seedlings is an uplifting reminder of the genius of the Creator in putting these forces in balance.

We all know that fire needs fuel. Building a controlled fire that meets its intended purpose (provide warmth, cook food, etc.) requires attention and a supply of good fuel. The builder of the fire needs to consider all the natural conditions and possible impediments to the fire or else the fire will not fulfill its purpose.

Why is Jesus eager to build a fire? (Luke 12: 49-53) What is the fuel that His fire needs? What are the intended results He hopes to accomplish? The fire He wants to build is one in the heart, one that is fueled by the love and care and respect that He has felt and about which He teaches, and the faith and love of those who believe in and follow His message. His fire is an animating force for good, not for destruction. It is an extension of God’s presence in us. Jesus wants this fire as His legacy – the fire of love by which Christians are known, a true kingdom of God on earth. Jesus knew that not everyone can accept this love, nor act on it consistently and with conviction. So there will be division, unrest, unease, since not everyone will accept or understand this fire of the heart in the way Jesus intended.

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"I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:
the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.

Many souls ... are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul.

If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy".