Burned Alive

I have always been one that has been intrigued by the imagery of fire and light living as a Child of God.  The imagery ranges from "we are the lighthouse standing strong in the storm to guide and direct others" to "in order to start a burning in someone's soul with the Gospel, you must first be lit" and more.  I have just always been inspired by the power of these ideas and how effectively they convey  the overwhelming impact God has upon our lives and how we live it.

Well, life led me to meet a person with a Jeremiah 20:9 tattoo with a flame around it, so obviously I had to check it out.

Jeremiah 20:9 (NIV)
⁹ But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.




When I initially read this it gave me the shivers.  For a moment, I want you to close your eyes and picture a roaring camp fire, popping and cracking heat through the night.  Now imagine what it would be like if that was inside your bones.  Crazy right?  When Jeremiah says these words, he is saying (it seems) that God's Word is so powerful and contagious that when he tries not to speak the Gospel, the Gospel just burns inside of him like a fire.  Now the message from this section is two-fold.

Firstly, the obvious: speak the Gospel.  When we chose to let Christ become the Lord of our souls, we also chose to let His entire presence inside of us (the fire).  If you turn on the oven and keep the door closed, it will just keep getting hotter and hotter.  Jeremiah is "weary of holding it in".  Well...the short answer is this...don't.  If the obstruction of the salvation of mankind is causing you pain, then stop obstructing.  Let it loose.  Go find the highest point in your area and shout to the world what the name Jesus Christ means.  You say you do not have that fire...yes you do...you probably have not been tending to it.  When the power and presence of the Lord is upon you, it takes your best to not just unleash everything.  Point One:  kiddle the fire and let it loose to start a forest fire.

Secondly, the less obvious: God will get you.  While vs 9 may be a very popular verse, the previous two are probably not so much.

Jeremiah 20:7-8 (NIV)
⁷ O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.
⁸ Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.




Jeremiah the prophet is complaining to God about his life situation.  He was "deceived..and...overpowered". He is "ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me".  He is referring to the fact that when God called him to be a prophet, he did not feel like he had a choice.  Jeremiah's situation is so bad that even when he tries to share what the Lord has given him (which is usually violence and destruction...not a good way to become well liked), he has to cry out.  He cannot even calmly share like a sane man...no, he has to "cry out" like a mad man.  The prophet feels like God forcibly put him in a very un-ideal position.  "So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long."  Point Two:  if God wants you to do something, you will do.  Point Two (again): what He calls you to do will often mean terrible things for your emotional, physical, and societal health.

This is God's world, and we are just living in it.  People who spew fire so that they may be lit and burning are called arsonists and criminals.  Being a christian and a prophet, the actions and the results are no different.  You are called to be a spiritual arsonist.  You will be treated like a mad man crying out and (in many places now and everywhere soon) a criminal.  You are filled with the fire of life...the fire of love...the fire of everlasting peace.  Time to share.