Fire and Water

This afternoon we had a great time with friends and family chilling out, catching up and eating a barbeque.  At the very start, fire needs to be applied to the firelighters and charcoal in order to create the necessary heat source for the food to be cooked. 

Lighting up

The charcoal that was added to the fire gradually began to take hold and began to burn.  After a while the charcoal itself became the fire.  It reminded me of what I wrote a few blogs ago about the intake of food that eventually become an integral part of us.  So what was added to the firelighters eventually became not just an extra part to the fire but the fire itself.

Not our barbeque but a fire that has been going for a while

Everyone who is familiar with the workings of the kitchen will know that a colander or sieve is used to strain liquid out of food or to separate the solid part from the liquid part.  We would never think of trying to carry liquid in a colander or try to fill it by pouring water into it – it would disappear straight through the holes.

Filling a colander with water is an impossible task



  

But exactly the opposite happens when we put a colander into a sink or bowl full of liquid.  Instead of draining the liquid from the inside of the colander, it lets the liquid into the colander.  The only way for a colander to be full of liquid is for it to be immersed in the liquid itself.

Totally immersed, the colander retains the water

We don’t need to be as intelligent as Einstein or have a degree in rocket science in order to understand the principles of how things react in the above two examples of fire and water.  Following on from what I mentioned in my previous blog about things in the natural, physical world having a corresponding truth in the spiritual realm, what Kingdom truths does this teach me? 

I think as humans we often get things the wrong way around.  We decide on a project or a course of action and then go to God and ask Him to bless our efforts and our plans and to give us success (whatever we feel that success in a given situation looks like).  We should be doing things the other way around by asking God what He wants to do in a given situation and ask Him what part He wants us to play, if any.  We talk of inviting God into our lives, almost as though we are doing Him a favour by allowing Him to occupy a part of our busy lives.  God is everywhere, so we should really be thinking in terms of living constantly in God’s presence and not about inviting Him into a part of ours.  Like the colander in the bowl full of liquid, not seeking to pour the Holy Spirit into my life but rather to be totally immersed in the presence of God and like the fire I want to be so caught on fire for Him that I am not just a part of fuel added to the fire but totally consumed for Him and by Him and thus become the fire itself.



Paradoxes

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary a paradox is:

1. a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement
2. a person or thing conflicting with a pre-conceived notion of what is reasonable or possible.

In the natural world there are a number of such situations.  I am always amazed in spring to see what seemed dead suddenly burst into life again.  On several occasions I have thought that I had completely lost a particular plant.  One such plant is a beautiful clematis that I planted last year.  Over the winter it completely disappeared.  When I started to prepare the garden this spring, I was about to dig it up and replace it with something a bit sturdier but I noticed a few leaves beginning to open.  So I left it and have had such lovely flowers from it this year.

Such beauty out of what seemed dead



Whatever truth exists in the natural world corresponds to a similar truth in the spiritual realm.  Out of death comes life.  The Bible says that a seed must fall to the ground and die in order to bring forth fruit and Jesus on another occasion said that only if I am prepared to lose my life can I save it.  Of course the ultimate example is of Jesus himself who died to save all.

Another natural paradox is that you need to cut back in order to grow.  It does seem absurd that cutting a plant right back is the only way for it to grow big and strong.  You would naturally assume that cutting back would take away strength and make a plant weaker not stronger.  Sometimes in our lives we need to let go of some things in order to become strong in spirit.  Our dependence on certain things (and people) can actually weaken us and only when we let go of these can we gain strength within ourselves.  A young sapling tree has a prop in order to support it until it has grown but then the prop is removed and it learns to stand in its own strength and thrust out its own roots in order to grow.  We all need help from time to time but there comes a point when we need to stand up straight and grow without depending on all the props around us.  The writer to the Hebrews reminded his readers that they had been followers of the Way for a while now and should be past the baby stage of drinking milk and should be growing stronger in their faith and not relying still on others to feed them all the time. (Hebrews 5:12-14)

In the autumn farmers set fire to the stalks left in the land to make way for the new seed and growth that is to come.  Forest wardens cut down some trees in order to give light and space for others to grow.  Sometimes we have to cut out even what has been useful but has served its purpose in order for future growth to take place.  The trouble is we humans tend to hang on to things that we have enjoyed and so institution is formed instead of new life and future growth.  What has passed has been good and served me well and was very useful for my spiritual growth at that time but maybe some things need to go in order to make room for new and future growth in Him so that I don’t just become part of an institution instead of having a living, vibrant spiritual life.  So I look at the world around me and learn about Kingdom truths and, as part of God’s great creation, about how I should be living.

Paradox

According to the dictionary, a paradox is 'a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement'.  Today I received an email with a number of paradoxes.  So I thought I would share some with you here on my blog.  They speak for themselves so all I'll say is read them, meditate on them and see where that takes you.

The heart has reasons that reason doesn't have.

The essential things in life are invisible to the eyes.  You can only see them with your heart.

There was a man who was so, so poor, the only thing he had was money.

Technology brings near those who are furthest away but

can distance us from those who are near.

While objectively we are better off than ever,

subjectively we find ourselves profoundly unsatisfied.

He who knows much, listens while he who knows little, talks. 

He who knows much, asks questions while he who knows little, makes sentences.

Man looks for answers and finds questions.

He is not the richest who has more but he who needs less.

The more love you give, the more love fills you.

We suffer too much for the little that we lack and celebrate little the much that we have.