Our relationship with God can be compared to a fire. When we meet God in His Word, our hearts, like those disciples on the road to Emmaus, burn with love for God. How would you describe the fire of your love?

Some fires may just have glowing embers, but that could be for a variety of reasons. Perhaps those people are just learning about Jesus and don’t have  a personal relationship with Him, so their fire is small. On the other hand, perhaps they have allowed worldly calls to distract them from stoking the fire of their relationship with God. Some can compare their love for God as candlelight, strong enough to take steps forward, but still an external light. For those seeking a relationship with God and trying to get closer, their fire could be likened to one that is burning twigs and brush. It’s a little fire, sometimes intense, sometimes jumping, and sometimes a bit on the smoky side. Is your fire of love for God one that burns large logs and is steady and hot? Or would you compare it to a wildfire, or even a megafire, that is wholly consuming? 

We are all made to burn with love for God. The fire we should strive for is that of the burning bush that Moses saw. That bush was fully on fire, yet it was not damaged. Rather God used it to its fullest abilities, while allowing it to remain with its physical attributes untouched. God’s presence made that bush fully alive, living in union with God, and an example for Moses to see and experience. We too should be burning bushes, and in this Extraordinary Missions Month, we are called to be witnesses of Jesus to others as we live in union with Him. 

“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”

Luke 12:49

Jesus calls us to be more than just creatures that were created, He calls us friends, wanting to spend time with us. The way we feed the fire of our love for Him is by spending time with Him and His Word, reading the Bible whether we occasionally pick it up and randomly open and begin to read, or we read the daily readings. Meditating on what we have read takes those Words and brings them into our minds, hearts, and souls as we look for Him speaking to us. If we read the Bible thinking, “what does it say?”, the message may not get through to us. Rather we need to read it as if Jesus (or whichever apostle or prophet you’re reading) is speaking directly to us. More like, “what is Jesus saying?” As we listen to Jesus on a regular basis, we stoke the fire of our love for Him.

Our love fire for God is one fire we don’t need to be afraid of since the presence of God will transform us to become the best versions of ourselves. It’s up to us to determine what degree we want it to be.