Youth 3:16 (youth group) recently had a Bonfire & Fireworks night. For dinner the main course was pizza (of course!), followed by toasted marshmallows for dessert. A correctly toasted marshmallow must have the perfect combination of molten sweetness and burnt caramelization. To achieve this, it must be well-singed.
One of the most famous Bible stories also features a well-singed object – Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15). God’s presence appears to Moses in the burning bush. In the Bible fire represents God’s holy presence which burns against what is unholy and sinful.
What is remarkable in this story is that the burning bush does not get consumed. (unlike our toasted marshmallows!) This is a powerful image of the Christian Gospel:
in Jesus Christ, dying for us to pay for our sins, God’s holiness burned against and destroyed (consumed) our sins, so that we might not be destroyed (consumed), but saved.
Are we ever burnt by life’s experiences? Are we at all at fault? As we put our faith in Jesus, we will not be crushed by these experiences but led more deeply into God’s saving grace that forgives, heals and blesses us – just as were Moses and the children of Israel as they put their faith in the saving God.
Jonathan.