I believe that Jesus has called us to fall in love with him in a clumsy raging passionate messy way. I grew up in the Church so all the Bible stories were familiar to me. Maybe it was this familiarity that allowed me to sit in unmoved in a sunday pew while someone told me about a God who died for his creatures. A dying world has a hard time believing the gospel when it is lethargically mumbled off the lips like a time table.
I don’t want that anymore. I want to fall 300% more in love with Jesus each year and have my eyes opened to the height and depth and width of a love that passes understanding.
And I don’t have anything against Christ Tomlin, but for some reason God has more often spoke to me through the lyrics of songs not often sung in church or books not often featured in Christianity Today. God breathes wonder into my world through Death Cab for Cutie and reading Annie Dillard. He takes my heart to mountaintops and stirs a sad longing in me.
So let’s look at why the song Burn ignites my heart more often than 10,000 Reasons.
“we, we don’t have to worry about nothing (matthew 6:34)
‘Cause we got the fire, and we’re burning one hell of a something (luke 12:49)
They, they gonna see us from outer space, outer space
Light it up, like we’re the stars of the human race, human race
When the lights turned down, they don’t know what they heard (1 Cor 2:14)
Strike the match, play it loud, giving love to the world (john 13:35)
We’ll be raising our hands, shining up to the sky (Hebrews 9:28)
‘Cause we got the fire, fire, fire, yeah we got the fire fire fire (acts 2:3)
And we gonna let it burn burn burn burn (Sos 3:4)
We gonna let it burn burn burn burn (acts 13:47)
Gonna let it burn burn burn burn (psalms 84:2)
We gonna let it burn burn burn burn (matthew 5:14)
We don’t wanna leave, no, we just gonna be right now (acts 20:7)
And what we see, is everybody’s on the floor
Acting crazy getting loco to the lights out (acts 2:5-16)
Music’s on, I’m waking up, we stop the vibe, and we bump it up (Romans 13:11)
And it’s over now, we got the love, there’s no secret now, no secret now (acts 2:43)”
Boom. Fire.
What stuck me the other day as I was listening to this is how burning is a passive action. Ellie says that we’ve got the fire and we are gunna let it burn. Have you ever seen a log trying to start itself on fire?
Me either.
But I’ve seen many people rubbing sticks together trying to use friction to get a spark while all the while someone stands impatiently behind them with a gas can waiting for them to give up and let the fire start.
If Christianity is hard and you can’t seem to be passionate and it’s hard to read your bible, stop trying.
Give up. Tell God that you are done trying to be a good Christian and just let him do it for you. Spend time in his fiery presence and you will get wrecked by love.
Make space for him and he will set your world on fire.
Go for a run with Ellie Goulding singing Burn burn burn and see if God doesn’t come and meet you right where you are at. He longs for intimacy, He’s willing to work with the heart that will stop trying and just let him go pyromaniac.
Just look at what he did at Mt Carmel. Blasting a soaked offering with fire from heaven. Doesn’t even matter if your heart is drenched with the things of this world. God’s infinite love is more powerful than the junk you have been feeding your mind and soul. All he wants is for you to make up in your mind that you are ready to be set on fire and he will do it.
