God, through the work of His Holy Spirit in us, teaches us how to love. She teaches us God’s way of love, authentic love. God’s love cannot exist in us unless we are renewed in spirit (Ephesians 4:23; Psalm 51:10). We must get rid of the old ideas, beliefs and ways of thinking which are natural (carnal, of the world) and replace them with a spiritual sensibility.
The only way to do this is by allowing Spirit to renew our minds through the process of purification. God purifies us by fire (trials, challenges, tests) – “…and I will purify them…by fire” Zecharia 13:9 – like gold is purified (1 Peter 1:7 “…as fire tests and purifies gold”); the dross is thoroughly burned away (Isaiah 1:25).
This is what God’s love does in us and to us: the fire of God’s love consumes us and we are made beautiful – He gives us beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3). And like the phoenix, a symbol of early Christianity, is burned to ashes and reborn a thing of beauty, so too are we reborn after experiencing the consuming fire of God’s authentic love. All that is ugly in us is burnt up and what emerges is the beauty of God’s love expressed through us.
Love is a consuming fire ©2013 Shelley Johnson 09-Mar-2013
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