Fire
by Mike James
On January 7, two major fires began in the suburbs of Los Angeles. One of the fires began in Pacific Palisades, and later that day a second fire began to decimate Altadena. As I watched the reports on the news that night, I was amazed by what I was seeing. I saw a fire truck trying to shoot water at a building with a powerful hose, and the wind was blowing the water back to the fire truck. The primary reason these fires raged was because of the unusual power of the winds that night.
My home is in Fontana, California, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. We are known for getting powerful winds through this area in late fall and winter. Those same Santa Anna winds can come through all over Southern California, but on this night some of those wind speeds were hurricane force. The wind blew embers for miles which was evidenced by many homes and businesses on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu burning to the ground despite the fact they were across a road on the ocean side of the iconic road. One of the problems that night was that helicopters and planes could not get into the air to fight those fires because of the wind speed.
I have written a few times in these blogs on how quickly things can change. This is yet another example of it. Over 12,000 homes, businesses, nursing homes, places of worship, and schools have been destroyed. Our group meets in the Pasadena Senior Center, which is only about four miles from Altadena. Some old-time members of other Church of God groups have lost their homes.
I was impacted by one report on the local news where the reporter was interviewing someone who had returned to see that his home was a total loss. The man was sitting on his front stoop in shock. The reporter asked the man how he was going to get back on his feet. The man stated that he didn't know. The victim of the fire also stated, "I wasn't expecting this. I don't understand."
That statement struck me because I started to wonder how I would respond if I were in that man's shoes. Would I feel the same way he did, or would I have a different response? I thought of 1 Thessalonians 4:13, which says the following: "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope." As Christian's we should be living our life with our hope of the future Kingdom first and foremost. If we do, then death and calamities can be taken in stride—as part of life.
I sometimes meditate on death. I think about my own death or the death of my wife or daughter or other family members. I don't do it often, and I'm not moribund, but I think about it to acknowledge that bad things could happen at any time. And the Bible teaches me that we are only here for a moment. Second Corinthians 4:16-18 can help: "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
No matter what your circumstance or situation is in this life, remember someone else may have it worse than you. But whatever it is you experience in this life it is only for a short period of time in comparison to eternity. That is hard for us in our physical existence to understand, but have faith and believe it.
You need to be ready at any moment to give up this life and everything in it. In fact, when you repent and get baptized you need to give up your life and let Christ take over ownership of your life. Galatians 2:20 makes this clear: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Finally, remember to trust Scripture. Going back to the man sitting on his stoop not knowing or understanding what was happening, we need to know and understand that this life and world is not what it is all about. We can rise from any ashes we experience because "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).