Are you on fire?

Are you on fire? Or are you lukewarm? I know for myself that I'm terribly lukewarm.

I came across this video while researching on hope and prayers for Japan. I never realized how disgusting I must be to God when I talk about my own lukewarmness to others, ask if they are also lukewarm, but don't do anything about it. I remember when I first had the conviction to do missions. I was talking to a friend who asked me, "Isn't there more to a Christian life than this? More than just going to church, doing the daily devos, going to prayer meetings, going to fellowship? There must be something more!" I slowly thought about it and realized that to be a Christian means that our lives should look completely different if we weren't following Christ. But so many times, I fall into the materialism of the world and try to live my life out like a "normal" person. But I shouldn't be normal! I should have God, the Holy Spirit, actually living inside me guiding my life.

I admit every day is a constant struggle between living life the way I want and the life the way God wants for me. In my selfish mind, I don't see why God should hold on to the control over my life. But, when we think about ourselves, we are little, itty bitty specks on earth in this giant universe. We are nothing compared to God, who is greater and more powerful than all things and created us. Therefore, why shouldn't we trust that God knows the best for us and has greater things planned for us than we can ever imagine on our own? That should be reason enough to live life on fire.

But, what does it mean to live life on fire? I believe this is different for everyone, but when we are on fire, we'll know. It may be small things in life, like boldly starting conversations about God with our friends and colleagues. It could also be handing out sandwiches to the homeless and refusing to ignore the poor when we walk by them. It could mean following God's call to go to seminary and becoming a pastor. It could even mean dropping everything and moving to another country to minister to people who don't know God. The most important aspect to this life on fire is where we no longer can trust in our own skills or knowledge or pension plans or whatever we have to make sure we're in control. Instead, we place ourselves in a vulnerable position where we can't do anything except trust that God will take care of things.

That is my hope for this missions trip. That I will drop everything that allows me to believe in my abilities and turn to God so He can show me His power. I want to be on fire for God!

Love,
J