Campfire Christianity

            One hobby I enjoy thoroughly is camping.  A “must do” while camping is building and maintaining a campfire. The fire is used for several different activities while in the woods.  Food is often cooked on the campfire, marshmallow roasting is a sure hit, heating up chocolate Hershey bars to make "smores" wets my taste buds, keeping warm during the night’s cool breeze, and “chewing the fat” are all events that I love to take part in around the campfire.

A good campfire starts out as a dead pile of brush and small twigs that will catch a spark easily.  As the base is broadened, larger sticks are used for the endurance of the fire.  Once the base is set up a spark is needed to ignite the flame either from a match, lighter, or the old school hard core way of friction from a stick.  The campfire is now going, the food has been cooked and the time is at hand for gazing into the fire being mesmerized by the red hot coals.

Kurt Kaiser wrote the song “Pass It On” which speaks of a fire.  The first verse says,

It only takes a spark to get a fire going,

And soon all those a round can warm up in its glowing;

That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it:

You spread His love to everyone; you want to pass it on.

Jesus speaks of this “spark” in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (ESV).  Jesus provided the spark which started the fire of Christianity.  The fire started out small and then turned into a blaze.  Often in our lives though, the fire weakens.  When a campfire is built, the spark starts the brush, the brush starts the twigs, then the twigs catch the logs and a big fire is made.  Once the logs start to burn out though, the fire will lose its flame.  Is our Christianity burning out?

            It is not a new concept or weakness to allow one’s Christianity to burn out.  Peter was on fire for Jesus and stated in Matthew 26:35 “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.”  Peter’s fire soon died out when he was approached three different times that night being accused of being associated with Jesus and denying the accusation all three times before the rooster crowed (Mt. 26:69-75). Do not be discouraged if your fire dims down, but do not become slack concerning the matter.

Exert from The School Bus Drivin’ Preacher.