“(John the Baptist) was the burning and shining lamp…” John 5:35

Burning

There are few things that warm me more than the look and feel of burning logs in a fireplace on a wintry day. Not only does the feel of it warm my skin, but the look of it inflames my heart with joy, peace, and well-being.

I often think of “burning” when I want to describe my response to the all-consuming God. My heart indeed burns with passion for Him and His Word. I am inflamed with desire not only to be with Him and to walk in His courts, but to see others burn with desire for Him also.

Those who sense the Lord’s presence commonly describe it as a “burning.” In Luke 24:32, when the disciples talked with the resurrected Jesus but did not recognize Him, they said, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” The presence of God was manifested in the burning!

Jeremiah, too, experienced a kind of burning in his heart. He’d been speaking in the name of the LORD, but the people reproached and shamed him. “Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not” (Jeremiah 20:9). The call to share the Word of God was manifested in the burning!

Moses had the experience of God’s voice and presence manifested in a burning bush. The wonder of it, to Moses, was that it didn’t burn up. “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn” (Exodus 3:3). But God explained why Moses could not look: “Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground…’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:5-6). The holiness of God was manifested in the burning!

Burning brings transformation, whether to logs or to our hearts. In Scripture, the transformation of our hearts is linked to the fire that purges out the dross in gold. It is a work of purification—a much-needed process in all of us. The transforming power of God is manifested in the burning!

Log fires burn out. Sometimes, the burning in our hearts is prone to “burn out” as well. I believe we can keep the fire alive, though. Pray for God to continually ignite in us a passion for His Name. Meditate on His Word daily. Keep our mind on things above, not on things on the earth. And, like John the Baptist, may our burning for the Lord illuminate Him.

“Lord, we pray for a fresh igniting of passion for You in our hearts. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”