Dear Rose Park,
Over the past few weeks I’ve made it a habit to have a bonfire in our backyard. When it was snowing on Halloween, I sat around a fire and passed out candy to our neighborhood kids. When the kids wanted to play in the yard as the sun started to set and the temperature dropped, we warmed our hands up around the fire in between tosses of the football. There’s something very peaceful and even comforting about a bonfire. It might be the sound or smell to cause such peace, but I think it’s mostly due to the fact that a bonfire invites you to pause and be patient. As I sit and stare into the flame, I’m reminded of the many biblical stories where fire plays a prominent role.
From the Lord descending on Mount Sinai in fire and and Isaiah’s lips being burned by a flaming piece of coal all the way to the Holy Spirit descending as flaming tongues at Pentecost or the rider named Faithful and True with flaming eyes in the book of Revelation and even Jesus commissioning Peter around a campfire, fire is a prominent image in the bible. As I stare into the fire pit, I’m reminded of these stories but simultaneously I’m compelled to share these stories around the fire.
Something about a bonfire invites a story to be told. Perhaps you have memories of hearing a ghost story around a fire or maybe you’ve passed the history of your family from one generation to the next. When I sit around the fire something is stirred in my soul to share a story. I’ve told Simon and Winnie all about the week-long summer trips to my grandparents’ house or how I got a scar on my knee and even the stories of Jesus I remember hearing at Camp Geneva as a young boy.
This is all to say, when’s the last time you intentionally sat down with a friend or loved one and shared a story? When’s the last time you shared the story of Jesus? I don’t mean when’s the last time you converted someone, but when is the last time that you told someone else the Good News of Christ? When’s the last time you shared with someone how faithful God has been to you or how grateful you are for God’s grace, forgiveness, and mercy? When’s the last time you told someone how the Good Shepherd was with you up the mountain and down the valley? When’s the last time you shared the story of how God welcomed you back into the flock?
Typically, when we gather around the fire pit we tell stories. Maybe these are ghost stories or stories from our past, but perhaps the next time you figuratively or literally gather up the kindling, unfold your camping chairs, and strike a match you might be compelled to share the powerful and burning truth of the Gospel.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark
Photo by Matt Whitacre on Unsplash