Things I Think…

1. The area I live in is currently under a “Red Flag Warning”. This means the combination of extreme heat, wind, and low humidity will combine to create conditions under which catastrophic fires can easily start.

We were under such conditions two years ago when my town burned and today and tomorrow will be days when attention must and will be paid to my surroundings. I have to be ready to flee…last time I wasn’t…because I didn’t believe that such a thing could ever happen here.

I would suggest that we are at a historical junction in this country where another type of conflagration is possible… I see spot fires everywhere.

The disgruntled and disaffected now take up arms to themselves and shoot up grocery stores, schools, and fairs when their minds and souls can no longer contain all the rage they have consumed.

Families  and churches are split because of political beliefs and those splits are often imbued with continuing hostility.

We are losing our communities and our minds.

It’s obvious that we are dying of anger, and we foolishly believe a more intense rage will douse the flames.

The truth is that we will all suffer loss through the flames we light and those we choose to feed.

2. The heat is understandable. We have passed through years where our lives and economy were turned upside down by a virus and none of us are sure that all was done well and honestly. We are unsure of the motives behind many of the actions and no longer trust anyone…yet believe that among the untrustworthy a champion awaits to set things right. This is utterly delusional thinking, but I guess like many delusions, it brings a measure of comfort to some…

3.  The heat alone won’t start a devastating fire…it takes wind to push the fire beyond it origins and grow unstoppable. The winds are produced by media that care not what burns as long as people consume their product and by pulpits that baptize the rage as holy unto God…both will be judged, but the church will be judged more strictly…

4. I could fill this page with biblical admonitions against continual anger, but we have deluded ourselves into believing that in this case, in this country, we know better than God how to bring the kingdom we desire…what we will end up with is a kingdom of ash…

5. One of the things most worrisome under a Red Flag Warning is knowing that there are people who look forward to times like these because they love to watch things burn…they set fires without a care to the consequences…let the reader understand…

6. When the fires start rumors and falsehoods abound about who started the blaze and where it’s headed…truth is difficult to discern. In these times  we have to dedicate ourselves to that which we know is true, the word of God… which calls us to be fire extinguishers, not “holy” arsonists…

7. The fire that took my town, took my community. The places where we gathered, the places we held in common, burned up in a matter of hours. People left without homes moved away and took their gifts with them. The people who were left were faced with an unfamiliar landscape that will always be empty of what was and will be scarred for generations. We are already burning up our communities, (online and off) and without community the ties that bind disintegrate and create little tribes without any connection to something greater…or connections to something that appears greater, but is carrying matches…

8. One of the reasons our area burned down was that as the fire started to take the town, we ran out of water. Something malfunctioned in the system and the hoses were empty of that which was desperately needed. We are in desperate need today of the water of the Word and the living water that only Christ can give…too often we’ve chosen to waste it fighting each other instead of what threatens to consume us….

9. We have also chosen to believe that the weapons of our warfare need to be carnal because the carnality and perversion around us is so great. We scoff at calls to sacrificial action and wielding the sword of the Spirit in prayer as too passive…forgetting that the power that saved us and brought forth God’s new creation was only accessed by suffering and death…a death that defeated all the powers and principalities and began the renewal of all things…and is still the only power capable of defeating the darkness…

10. There are few professions as noble as fire fighting. It is undertaken at great risk for the purpose of preservation of life and property. We who name the name of Christ are called to fight the fires of hell…but our tools are prayer and the Gospel and the willingness to suffer and sacrifice for others in love to preserve what has been given.We have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, not burning down of a culture.  Societally, i can smell smoke and hear the sirens…this is my red flag warning to us all. It can happen here…make your own application…or don’t…