FAKE FIREPLACE

I’ve always loved fireplaces. Whenever our family moved, a fireplace was always a factor in purchasing a home. We even had one custom built when we built a house in Sleepy Hollow in the early 90’s. It was a corner one in the living room. It was beautiful. Rebekah (my oldest daughter) and I used to lie down by the fireplace and read Robert Frost poetry.

Now the house I’m living in doesn’t have a fireplace. And it just doesn’t have that same cozy feel.

So one evening in early December, I’m sitting at home alone with cinnamon wax scents wafting through the house, Goldie (my dog) at my feet (that are covered in comfy Ugg slippers), low light, reading God’s Word and instrumental Christmas music softly echoing in the background. Hey what can I say…I’m a romantic who loves to set moods!

Suddenly I remembered a Fireplace App that I have on my Roku device and set up a crackling stone fireplace. It’s beautiful in 38’ HD. And the crackling sounds are so real. But it’s not a real fire; rather it’s a real recording of a fire. It doesn’t emanate warmth, it’s not dangerous, it’s not consuming, it’s not hot. All of a sudden I felt a chill. What a metaphor for life. It could be so dangerous to touch the fires of who we are (real fire) and who we pretend to be (fake fire). It’s easy to put my hand up to the TV screen and not get burned. But real fire burns, heats, sterilizes, cleanses, hurts, comforts, consumes.

God is referred to as a consuming fire in the Old and New Testaments.

“To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.” Exodus 24:17

 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’" Hebrews 12:28-29

I want to be hot. Consumed. Warm. Clean. Dangerous.

It reminds me about a story that Brennan Manning wrote concerning a faculty member at a university where he was preaching. She spoke of how strong the fire was in her heart when she first became a Christian, she said to Brennan, “At one point in my life I had a faith so strong that it shaped the very fiber of each day. I was conscious of God’s presence even in stressful situations. The fire of Christ burned inside of me. Slowly, though, and almost imperceptibly, I stopped sitting at the fireplace.” p. 20/Ruthless Trust.

Sometimes things don't make sense when the fire burns uncontrollably. But that shouldn't change my response for how God requires me to react. Because the real fire in life is all about grace, mercy, forgiveness, and unconditional love.

The world needs to see Christians who are stripped bare, consumed, on fire with the indwelling blaze of the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to purge us for God’s glory, so that all we have is God. I really believe with all my heart that today's evangelism is in the form of “burnt-out” authenticity and vulnerability. We must let Him blow away the ash heap of our own burnt nature and a life of being burned on so many fronts. Then, let Him take us from the ashen-fire that lies in front of us and replace it with a crown of beauty. (Isaiah 61:3)

James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

There is something that frankly scares me. On Christmas morning I will wake up alone. My youngest daughter will be sleeping at my oldest daughter’s house on Christmas Eve. This will be the first Christmas in my life I will wake up to an empty house. But the first thing I will do this Christmas is sing happy birthday to Jesus and take time to sit by the Fire, and it won’t be on my TV.

This Christmas, come...sit by the Fire…and stay a while.