We are doing a gratitude challenge at work. Someone shared a quote about dealing with hardship and adversity. He is a history teacher, so I know he has seen many good quotes. This one was succinct.
"Fire will either burn your house down or refine you."
It is true. And somewhere in between, it can keep your house warm.
Our current culture seems to perpetuate and glory in discord and disagreement. Disagreement can be like fire. It can help us explore what we know, what we think we know, and if we use conflict as a tool for growth, it can help refine.
Power in any human's hand can lead to destruction. It can, also, be a path to solving big problems. When the Queen of Sheba of Ethiopia journeyed to meet King Solomon in Jerusalem, the ancient world watched. It is recorded in the Bible. It is repeated in a 1st-century account by Josephus. She is credited with bringing the first balsam trees to Israel. The account of her time there is interesting. I am reminded that we only see small parts of the puzzle in the story of God and man.
I love this passage.
“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” – 1 Corinthians 3:13
We had a pastor who used to say in difficult situations, "Do you want to throw water on it or gasoline?" It depends on the situation. Burning road ditches is good for the land. Wildfires are not. It is situational.
Water will be another day's discussion.
Today, I am grateful for fire.
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