Consumed

I have been consumed, enveloped by fire and lived. It started from deep within and moved outward until it permeated every part of me. I used to think no one understood, that I was the only one like this… but there are others like me. We share this burning, this consuming flame for one thing. If you share this flame, if you are consumed, stay with me.
    This fire started when I was young. At times, it lays dormant for weeks, even months at a time but the slightest spark can bring it roaring back to life. It is not controlled by external circumstances: the weather, affection from friends and family or the other little pleasantries that make life delightful. No, nothing shifts or abates it. In fact, it seems to grow stronger as time passes. The fire gets hotter and spreads further than it ever has before.
    My fire is given to me by God and is sustained by Him alone. Every time I hear of something God has done or of someone else who has started a personal relationship with Him, the flame is fanned. It rekindles my love for God. It makes my heart feel like hot coals. If you could see it, I bet I would be breathing smoke! I want to scream and laugh and dance and sing and cry and sit in awed silence all at the same time. Sometimes, it is all I can do to restrain myself from wild ecstasy. My passion, my fire is to see lives changed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only thing that truly moves me. It’s what I live for! Without it, I would be like ship without an anchor, listless and drifting in no particular direction. I praise God that He changed me life and cleared out “me” to make room for this fire.
    So what about you? Do you have the fire? Have you been consumed with a blazing passion to see lives changed? Tell me about it. It is my desire for us to help each other fulfill this passion and fire, To put action to it. So tell me about your fire and why you love sharing the Gospel.
“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame of the Lord.” Song 8:6 (NIV)