Sacramental Living

I was in north Florida most of Saturday, speaking at a youth convention. On the way back home, in the late afternoon, soon after I crossed the Georgia state line, I had to flip on my lights and slow down.

It was black as night … an ominous and eerie sort of dark.

And then I smelled it … the smell of burnt wood, reminiscent of a fall camping cook-out. What I was experiencing was the smoke drift from the raging fires further west in the state.

I was amazed that the wind had carried the smoke so far. The expanse of the fires finally meant something to me. I prayed for those fighting the fires and those in its way.

After a few miles, I came out of the smoke, the dark, flipped off the headlights and finished my trip home.

Except for praying again for those involved on Sunday, I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about the fires. Then it happened.

Today as I was out and about I perceived a small haze. When I got out of the car, I smelled that smell again … the camping cook-out smell. Though it was fainter now, the smoke had hit the coast. I wondered today, just how far the smoke from these fires carries.

At once it hit me … a quote attributed to John Wesley: “When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn.” I asked myself, “How far is my the smoke from my fire carrying?” And for the community of faith I minister to and with, are we burning so pervasively, are we such a bright light ablaze with passion, that people see us burn? Or are we just being ignored?

If we’re ignored, we might not be on fire at all!

SO TELL ME:
Does your fire need to be stoked?

SO TELL ME SOMETHING ELSE:
Is anybody watching you, or are you being ignored?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.

Related Posts:

• Why Do We Feed the Hungry?
• 24-hour Prayer Vigil … Hours 4 & 5
• Time Away is Never Time Away
• The Mysterious Presence
• 24-hour Prayer Vigil … Hours 7-12

Tags: Georgia, fires, praying, smoke, John Wesley, burn, community, faith