Over here in Australia, it is cold, very cold, thankfully we have a fireplace in our home. After starting and nurturing the fire a few times it got me thinking...
Our Relationship with God is like a fire in a fireplace. When making a fire there needs to be a secure and strong base, kindling, pine cones and newspaper. Without this there can be no fire, the fire needs a base, it needs somewhere to start.
Than comes the spark, a match, without this spark, well, nothing will be lit and therefore no fire. God provides the spark for your relationship with Him to start, but it doesn't end there, once the base, the kindling, is lit, you need to sit there and wait and watch, you have to babysit the beginning of this fire, this relationship. At the start it is too fragile for you to leave it, it must be nurtured and looked after till the moment is right for more wood.
Once the kindling is a blaze and you have your fire going you need to keep it fuelled, every so often you need to put another log on the fire. If you leave it for too long the fire will die.
It takes a little while to warm up but once the fire is hot the warmth not only effects you, it also effects everyone in the house. From your cat to the family member on the couch who kept telling you to give up on the fire.
Anyone who enters your house will feel the warmth and see the light, which in this cold world can be spotted a mile away.
God isn't a genie who is only there to grant you your wishes, nor is He a God who does not care for you. God cares for you so much, you are His chid. He wants a relationship with you, He puts in so much time and energy into us and into our relationship with Him, but for the relationship to be at its fullest potential, we must give back, thats how all relationships work, both sides need to give and receive.
Some of us complain about God not doing anything when we are the ones who haven't been putting wood onto the fire, we gave up and the fire died. Some of us are angry at God so we throw water onto the fire. Some people will try their best to come in between you and the fire, between your relationship with God, and it is so easily done. But God provides us with an everlasting pack of matches, so when we do come back, we can scrap aside the old coals and start again.
Earthly relationships will burn you, every time you go to put another log on, but the fire we have with God will never burn us, it is totally safe.
Let Gods love warm your heart and the heart of others. Some will say they prefer the cold and others simply wont get it, but don't let that stop you from embracing the warmth.
Don't let the fire die.
