Fire

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…..” (Philippians 2:12-15, ESV).

Fire—a tangible visibility of the process of matter changing form. A chemical reaction seen. Light! Heat!

Isaiah before the burning altar, seared lips with holy coal fire. Burn! Light! When God lights on a soul, fear and trembling. When God lights on a soul, the earnest, eager, willing cry, “Here I am! Send me! Work in me, Father! Woe is me!” And grace upon grace—“to work for his good pleasure!” The “woe” is replaced by burning delight. No longer, “Woe is me!” but “Delighted in! Pleasing! Before the All Consuming Fire I can stand! He himself, my Coal-Sanctifier from the burning altar of heaven. He himself, my Sacrifice.” We work, we run, energized by pure grace having seen the Shining One. We work, we burn, because the Spirit of Fire himself dwells in us, works in us.

A spiritual reaction seen—holy burning hearts.

God who works in us—and his work comes in very daily, earthy, non-brilliant things. “Do all things without grumbling and dispute.” Heaven touches earth in the day-to-day of our speech.

What is his heart in this command? He must think it possible for us. Do you think he commands it and then laughs as we try? He sets his sights higher than our justified excuses for not pursuing it. He sees what we will be in Christ, who he is in us already. He must give us—mentally, spiritually, and situationally—what we need in order to not grumble if we turn to him (2 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 Cor. 9:8; Phil. 4:13). Really? Really?

Does God grumble? Surely not! I doubt anyone of us would say so. The Perfect Father, Long-Suffering Love, Hesed Himself. Nor would he do what he commands us not to do. If he is our Father, if he is caring for us, if his power is for us, his love is poured out into our hearts, if he himself is working in us to will and to work for his good pleasure, if the Spirit is conforming me to the image of my Maker (Col. 3:10), renewing my mind to be like his (Phil. 2:5; Rom. 12:1; 1 Cor. 2:16), if he himself is sanctifying me in body and mind and soul (1 Thes. 5:23) why should I grumble? Why do we put the emphasis on how can we not grumble, when the question should be why should we grumble? If I really knew he was working all things for my good, his perfect love was set on me at all times, that he did not spare his own Son and so I can be sure he graciously gives me all things, if I saw the glory that awaits, how could I grumble? Lord, keep my eyes on you!

We do live in a fallen world. There is room for real lament and righteous anger. That is not the grumbling of division, of self-interest that Paul is speaking of here with the Philippian church and Euodia nad Syntyche in mind (Phil. 2:1-4, 4:2).

Do all things without grumbling THAT we may be a children of God, blameless, innocent, shining. Blameless seems to be present tense. Oh Lord! How I long for that! But How I have settled, as if grumbling and sin are more natural to me than than me-new-creation, me-in-Christ, me-temple-of-the-Holy-Spirit-of-God, me-child-of-the-Holy-Holy-Holy. No unholy thing could go into the physical temple. So how can uholy grumbling come into the temple of the Spirit? Oh Lord, guard my temple!

For your name’s sake, Lord! How can I shine if I grumble like everyone else? Have let the gray dark of this world convince me that grumbling is okay? It is in this very justifiable, everyone does it, not big deal because it is so human and part of daily life that we shine the most. It is not human if it is not of Christ—he the true human. It is fallen human.

But yet—shine. For fire to shine is natural, not a burden we have to live up to. But light naturally flows out of fire. Light naturally flows out of one whose eyes are radiant with Jesus, whose eyes see the burning throne. Not grumbling, light shining—a spiritual reaction seen when the Holy Spirit lights on our hearts. It is he who works in us to shine!