Recently I enjoyed a walk through the Rocky Mountains. The scenery was beautiful. You could see the handiwork of God. I was captured by the sunlight while looking at snow on the ground. The animals were majestic in their appearance. It was easy to say the words of the Psalm, "I lift mine eyes up the hills…." The whole event filled me with a sense of awe.
I also remembered the scripture, "what is man that thou thinketh of him…" The drama made me seem so small in the whole scope of creation. And yet, with God each one of us is the most significant. God focuses on us individually in our own uniqueness.
I was intrigued by the piles of wood that were stacked up to be burned. Knowing the impact of current fires burning in the mountains and the damage that has been caused would have made me think twice about preparing for things to be burned. And yet, there were preparations being made for such to happen. In fact, more intriguing were the small rings of black where control burns had obviously taken place recently. The fire was contained to a small circle.
Controlled burns are necessary to keep the forest at its best. They clean out the underbrush that puts the whole forest at risk. This enables the forest to continue to grow at its best.
In our spiritual life there is also the need for a controlled burn. Controlled burning is what John Wesley would call "going on to perfection." The old theological word used to talk about this is sanctification. Sanctifying grace is the grace of God that works in us where God shapes our life and character into Christ like form. It is God doing in our life what we ourselves cannot do. It is not good enough to remain who we are. We open ourselves to become what God can make us.
Most of us struggle with what we can make of ourselves. Maybe it is time to give ourselves to the fire—what God can make of us!
Pray for me as I pray for you.
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