Monday, November 13, 2006 - Small Beginnings
Amazing, isn't it, how a fire starts? I mean, I suppose there are several tools you can use: the ancient flint and rock, the utilitarian lighter, the elegant long, wooden matchstick, and perhaps the divine lightening bolt. Still it comes down to a single spark. The tool you use is only considered a success if that spark 'catches'.

And then that wee spark is only as successful as the fuel you add to it. A wet log won't suffice. Neither will a substance that will melt instead of burn. Some things burn too quickly to catch into a full fire. Oh to find that perfectly sized and seasoned piece that will start a long slow burn.

And of course you could entirely suffocate that poor spark if you don't adequately add oxygen. Blow to hard and it is extinguished. Blow to lightly, or not at all, and it too expires. Oh to find the right breath and power to sustain the glow.

Of course this is not a new analogy, and even if it were it is not terribly well presented. Still, my hope is that the spark in our home that has been lit by our Heavenly Father will be fed by our study and understanding of His written and spoken Word, and fanned in to an inferno by the Breath of His Holy Spirit. Nothing else will suffice. Every other way will fail.

Our Lord honours the day of small beginnings (see Neh. 4:1-6). The first spark is lit. Lord, give us the wisdom and the perseverance to fan it into flame.