Sparks of Destruction

“Don’t go burning bridges”, “play with fire, you get burned”, “where there’s smoke there’s fire”, “liar, liar pants on fire!” These are just a few of the fire metaphors I heard growing up. And at some point in life, sweet friend, I fully came to understand the meaning of each of these metaphors. Recently, I have been keeping myself informed on the wildfires across the West Coast and Midwest. Seeing pictures and reading news articles of people’s lives, homes, entire cities, and thousands of acres of wildlife completely destroyed; it is heartbreaking. It is also baffling to think that majority of these raging fires start from a tiny spark.

I will never forget the day I started a grease fire in my parent’s kitchen. It was the week of my wedding and while packing up my bedroom, I got a hankering for fried chicken tenders. High heat and poor supervision quickly resulted in one of the biggest panics of my life. Let’s just say it is a miracle that my husband did not end up marrying a bald bride without eyebrows! My parting gift that week to my parents was a melted vent hood, scorched kitchen cabinets, and the need for a new fire extinguisher; if that isn’t a memorable good-bye, I don’t know what is. The main thing I will never forget thinking is how such a small grease fire grew so rapidly, spreading so much smoke and soot.

Sweet friend, have you ever made some seemingly small sin decisions, which at the moment didn’t seem so bad and consequential? I know I sure have, only later to realize that those seemingly small sin decisions manifested into a BIGGER destructive pattern of decision making. When our sin sparks are left unchecked sweet friend, they become raging, ravenous fires obliterating everything good, holy, and fruitful in our lives. Sin destroys us, quenches the Holy Spirit, robs us of our peace, and hinders our fellowship with our Heavenly Father. James 1:14-15 tells us, “But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.” This depiction reveals the seriousness of our sin and the ultimate result when one continuously gives in to temptation.

That 'guilty pleasure' we indulge in, whether it's the unclean content we watch/listen to, the gossip laden conversations we engage in, flirting with someone who is not our spouse, taking credit for what is not ours, unhealthy relationships with food/material things/alcohol/substances, coveting our friend’s success, unwholesome/unkind speech, giving in to our lustful desires. Sweet friend, sin is progressive. The more comfortable we become with making those seemingly small sin decisions, the easier it is for lines to be blurred and for spiritual boundaries to crumble. Then one day the harsh reality of our sinful decisions face plants us in the ashes and we realize the magnitude of our destructive decisions; as well as the deep hurt it caused along the way for those who love and care for us. If you have or are currently there, I promise you are not alone; I also know this does not have to be where this blog ends.

Thankfully, sweet friend, we serve a God who does not leave us in the ashes of our sinful choices, we serve a God who breathes new life and brings beauty from our ashes (Isaiah 61:3)! As believers who have placed our faith in Christ Jesus, we are covered by HIS blood. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us which means where the Holy Spirit resides, sin cannot abide. Galatians 5:16 tells us, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” As believers in Christ, we may not be immune to sin; but what we must remember, is we are equipped through Christ and His Spirit to resist sin and live a life of godliness. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Sweet friend, because of Jesus we have a sin escape route, the question is, will we take it?

Rosaria Butterfield stated it so well when she said, “Sin and Christ cannot abide together, for the cross never makes itself an ally with the sin it must crush, because Christ took our sin upon himself and paid the ransom for its dreadful cost.” Even when we are faithless, God is faithful to us; but may we never associate His faithfulness to us in times of rebellion with His acceptance of our sinful choices. Sweet friend, God does not overlook our sin, but because we are HIS, He will illustrate His love by remaining faithful to His covenant with us. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Sweet friend, may the unfailing love and grace He lavishes on us bring us to our knees in worship daily, for HE is worthy!