Captivated.

As I have sat around the campfire the last two weeks, I could not take my gaze of the fire. The orange streaks and sometimes blue reaching for the sky. The occasional spark that wanders off. The embers that glow, the sounds of it crackling. The community that comes around to enjoy a good smore and songs of worship that linger late into the night. Everything about it captivates my attention.

As I was reflecting on this thought my team leader, Leanna turned to us and said you know, “I think fire describes what God, smells, tastes and looks like.” The smell is the smoke that lingers on your clothes, people know when you have been around a fire when you have been with the God. God tastes like the sweetness of a smore you have carefully crafted making sure the marshmallow was perfectly golden. God looks like fire in the fact that he is captivating, you can see fire from miles away and are drawn to it. Wow.

I sat back and reflected on this comparison of God to fire. I thought about my personal time with the Lord and books I have been reading and learning from. I could not put a word on how I was feeling about God, but captivated. Captivated was the word I had been looking for. Captivated by his love, his grace.

Captivated means to attract and hold the attention or interest of someone. God had my attention; my interest and I just want more and more of him.

Now fire was not only captivating my attention because it is so intriguing and beautiful to watch but it also reminded me of the Love I have for my heavenly father and how captivated I am by his unfathomable love and grace for me an insignificant human who fail time and time again.

I’m not sure about you but when I find myself captivated by something; I cannot stop thinking about it. That is kind of the definition of it isn’t it. I could not get this idea of fire out of my head, so I began thinking of the significance of it in relation to God.

• In the Old Testament God reveals himself to his people as a pillar of smoke as fire. To Moses as the burning bush, to the Israelites as the pillar leading them out of Egypt
•  A fire brings warmth and comfort, one of God’s many characteristics is comforter
• People gather around a campfire as a community, Gods heart is for people to live in community alongside people that they can love and support each other.
• Fire is a source of Light, in John 8:12 it says “I am the light of the World”… God is the Light.
• Fire can be so destructive and dangerous but also so beautiful and good. This made me think of God’s power and his ability to be destructive and also to bring so much good, beauty of creation, redemption and grace.

God created the things on this earth for us to admire and see his love for us. God intentionally created fire for us to see more of himself through it. If we are simply captivated by the flames of a campfire just how much more captivating is seeing God’s face? Fire is one of those incredible pieces of creation that has much significance in the scriptures and truly reflects God’s intentionality, beauty, love for creating community and so much more. The next time you gather around a campfire, reflect on God’s heart behind this beautiful piece of creation. Be captivated by his love for you!