Junk Mail as a Fire Starter

The best winter nights at our house include a fire in the fireplace. My husband gathers together a few empty envelopes and old receipts. He positions the logs in the firebox and arranges the junk mail into the log arrangement so that the little pieces of unwanted paper stick out at all angles and will easily light and burn.

His hope is that the fire will burn long enough for the logs to catch the fire and eventually provide heat and enjoyment for the family.

God does the same thing with us. He takes our junk - all that stuff we need to purge anyway - and He carefully considers how to re-position the debris of our lives so that it will easily catch fire and be consumed.

And then, He lights a fire.

It is up to us to let the fire of the Holy Spirit truly consume the junk in our lives . . . until we are left with a fire that will burn with love for Jesus Christ. And the entire Family of God gathers around to enjoy what God has done with you and through you and in you.

Come Holy Spirit, enkindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit . . . and you will renew the face of the earth!