"Strange fire".

Aspiring to be an outdoors-man has taught me a few things; like fire-crafting for example. There are times when fanning the flames of a dying fire will bring it back to life; (although this is usually an indication of a poorly made fire to begin with) or adding more wood to the previous nights embers and again, fanning – working to restore the flame. These things I have learned by trial and error, yet in this learning process I have found there are times my fanning efforts only blow around cold dead ashes. This is a lesson in lust. For, she invites us to work at fanning a flame that has long gone out; blowing ashes around and making a mess of ourselves. When the fire is out, it’s at that point time to move on.



Note: I was thinking on the topic of lust today, (as I’m preparing to minister to the young men in our youth group in March). So I went trolling through some old journal entries and came across the above. This is something that I’m reminded of (especially in this sexualized culture) each and every time I’m tempted to lust, every time I’m tempted to look back on that “missed opportunity” or look to the future to some desired “what if”. If I give myself to the spirit of lust; I just make a mess of things and accomplish nothing. I am reminded to be stronger than the influence that foul spirit would exert upon me. Strange fire indeed!

Luther.