Saturday, January 26, 2008

Wildfire!

    During an adult Sunday school class, our teacher mentioned a time when, as a young man, he heard some older Christians in his church commenting on the behavior of young people as the power of God fell on them. They called it “wildfire”. As he said that term I recalled a time from my past as a teenager. A similar thing was happening in my home church in Alabama. And while God moved, I heard a chuckle and the whispered, “It’s just wildfire.”
        I was so struck by this that I paused in listening to search my mind on the subject. “What, exactly, is wildfire?”
    My previous understanding of the word was that it is a random, quick, hot fire that is soon extinguished. People use it to describe fads, shallow experience in the spiritual and some types of forest fires. Wildfire, used as I understood it, was simply something that becomes hugely popular or destructive, dies out and never heard from again.
        When I got home, I got my trusty dictionary and looked up wildfire. What I read set wheels turning in my head. Wildfire is not what I thought. There are five definitions in my American Heritage College Dictionary. They are:
1. A raging, rapidly spreading fire.
2. Something that acts very quickly and intensely.
3. Lightning occurring without audible thunder.
4. A luminosity that appears over swamps or marshes at night. Also called “ignis fatuus” or “foolish fire.”
5. A highly flammable material once used in warfare.
        Throughout my life, I have often noticed that when the power of God falls; it acts as a raging, rapidly spreading fire. It moves quickly and intensely, spreading across the room in a wave of spiritual heat, sparing only those who resist. When its work is done, everything consumable in the human heart is gone.
        We have all seen summer heat lightning or wildfire. Usually the sky is cloudy, threatening rain. The air is hot and so thick you could cut it. Then lightning streaks across the sky, over and over. There is no sound, just those amazing flashes. You think the storm is coming, may fervently hope so, but often nothing happens... at least, not where you are. Actually, the center of the storm is so far away you can’t hear the thunder, and you never experience the effects of the storm. Light travels about a million times faster than sound. At the origin of that lightning is a raging storm and those beneath it feel its effects, often intensely. So too, those who only see spiritual wildfire seldom experience the effects of the spiritual storm.
        Before flashlights and electricity, the countryside was a dark place. Swamps and marshes were even darker and marsh lights have led people to their deaths. The more common name for this type of wildfire is “will-o’-the-wisp”. An unwary person can get lost if they are not aware of this wildfire. Once people believe these were lost souls doomed to wander. We know now that this wildfire is the burning of a gas produced in swamps and marshes. The natural breakdown of decaying matter creates this gas, called methane.
        Methane is a very useful but highly explosive gas when combined with air, oxygen, or chlorine. It can ignite spontaneously and results in a furious fire. Methane is the fuel used by acetylene torches. The heat generated by an acetylene torch can reach up to 6000 degrees and will burn virtually anything. Obviously, wildfire is not something to play with or treat lightly.
        Greek fire was the name of an ancient weapon, probably a primitive form of napalm, used by the Byzantine Greeks. Upon striking the target, this material stuck, spread, and burned. They used it in two ways: as a missile hurled from a catapult, and in flame-throwers. It was very useful for ships because it burned even under water. One text states it may even have changed the course of history. In AD 716-718, the rulers of Constantinople, who were Christians, destroyed the wooden fleets of the Muslim Arabs who had besieged the city. As a result, this blocked the spread of Islam in Europe. If you don't see the significance of this one use of “wildfire “ you have missed it all.
        Sometimes wildfire is necessary to clear the way for growth. As anyone who understands nature can tell you, a forest can become overgrown. The useless undergrowth of weeds and shrubs chokes out light and air, causing a decrease in young, healthy trees and, eventually, diseases which can kill off a forest. Nature has taken this into consideration and fixes it, often by lightning wildfires. A lightning wildfire will rapidly and efficiently clear the undergrowth without causing undue harm to healthy trees. 
    Once cleared of the useless undergrowth, young trees quickly sprout and grow. As trees age and die, young trees are waiting to fill their place. When Yellowstone burned so badly several years ago, it left many surprised at how quickly the forest recovered. Within a year, fresh growth appeared everywhere and wildlife increased dramatically. The conservation officers revealed that the seeds of most of the conifers in Yellowstone would not germinate or sprout until heated.
        “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.”  Acts 2:3. Looks like wildfire has been around a long time. Perhaps we all need a little wildfire.

No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments are moderate because of increased SPAM.

This Blog is protected by DMCA.com