Burnout? The Fire Must Never Go Out!
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The Fire Must Never Go Out!
A roaring fire was something I learned to respect and appreciate as a child. The shamrock green frame house with a tin roof, where we lived on Spring Hill Farm in Enfield, N. C. in the 1960s, was well over 50 years old and poorly insulated. Central HVAC heating and indoor plumbing were unheard of in houses like ours. So, in the winter, Dad and Mom were up before dawn, building life-sustaining wood fires in the black cast iron heater and in the wood-burning kitchen stove. ![]()
Stumbling out of bed in our shivering cold bedrooms, just as the sun was beginning to cast a red glow above the horizon, we were drawn to the two places in our house where we would be warm and fed. One of those was the “big” room we called “the house”—Mom and Dad’s bedroom which doubled as our family room, our gathering place. The other one was on the opposite end of the house—the kitchen, where each one of us recited a Bible verse after the grace and before meals.
The book of Leviticus, as challenging as it is to read and digest, is the third “R” in the 3-R nexus of the first three books of the Bible. Genesis describes man’s ruin through sin, Exodus describes his redemption via the power of God and blood sacrifice (Passover), but Leviticus describes and details a way for sinful, corrupt man to be in relationship with God through sacrifices, a system of laws, and prescribed practices. One such prescribed practice is that “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar.”
Now that Jesus has offered Himself upon the altar (the cross) as the once and for all supreme sacrificial offering, there is no longer a requirement to burn animal sacrifices upon the altar. So, does that mean that the fires of the altar may burn out? No! The altar provided a way for the people to have access to and be in fellowship with God. Our hearts are now the altars upon which the fires must forever burn! There must be no burnout!
When the fire burns on the altar of our hearts, our hearts don’t burn up, but we are constantly drawn and connected to the roaring fire that is the life-sustaining power and love of God! And when the fire is burning on the altar of our heart it casts a light that allows sinners to find their way out of the darkness of sin and unite in fellowship with God! In other words, someone whose life has been ruined by sin will see the fire burning in your heart and be redeemed so they can live in fellowship with and have a relationship with God! Wow! The 3-R nexus of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus is reflected in fire in our hearts! I did not see that when I shared this message before!
Like me, you may, at times, feel drained and weary of the daily grind and battles of life. Still, get up every day like my Mom and Dad did. Didn’t someone say, “It really doesn’t matter how you feel”? Make sure the fire is burning on the altar so that those who are shivering in the cold may be drawn to where they can be in fellowship and be fed! Burnout? The fire must never go out!
Focus Quote: “And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
–Exodus 3:2 KJV