As I sit and write this there are fireworks going off almost constantly. It will quieten down in a while and eventually the night will be dark again. I love fireworks – I love the sound when you can feel the deep boom in your collarbones, I love waiting for the bang after the ‘whooooosh’, I love the flash of light and colour, even the crackle of the colourful display. I also love the smell! Tonight is bonfire night in the UK so there are little flurries of firework displays. One of my favourite things to do on New Year’s Eve is drive up to a place called Otley Chevin and wait in the darkness for the explosion of lights all across the horizon as fireworks go off at midnight over the cities of Leeds and Bradford.
Fireworks are great, but they are also just a flash. If you were wanting to see where you were going you wouldn’t use a firework for light, if you were doing some close-up work you wouldn’t want a firework for light, and if you were scared and wanting some light in order to see what was around you a firework would be useless. For all their fun and beauty, fireworks are not a good source of light. In those situations you want a steady light, and it doesn’t need to be a bright spotlight, for even the smallest constant light is enough to banish the dark.
In a dark world are you a firework, a smouldering ember or a raging fire? Do you burst with enthusiasm for God then run out of steam and fizzle out? Are you a small constant glow but in need of encouragement and growth? Or are you on fire for God, radiating his light, love and joy, sharing the amazing news that all are loved and can walk in God’s everlasting light?
If you long to be really on fire for God a fellowship band is a really great place to increase your hunger for God.
Rachel is a Missioner based in Chesterfield, England. Along with her husband, Matt, she co-directs the Inspire Movement in Great Britain.
