Saturday morning I burned some brush that had been in my yard for a few weeks.

A brush fire is necessary because we don’t have places to put our leaves, grass clippings, or limbs. And they also cannot be put in trash bags to be picked up.

I happened to have more brush than usual since a friend had come by a few weeks ago to cut back my bushes, and hedges.

When first arriving in SVG I struggled to build a brush fire but now have gotten pretty good at it

That’s because I’ve learned the most important rule

Wet things don’t burn

now I realize this is common sense, but allow me to explain. The temptation is to try to burn brush or limbs the day you cut them because you they don’t look good in the backyard. This can be done with accelerant like gasoline (used very carefully) but otherwise you must wait a few weeks for the limbs to dry out.

It’s also very helpful to have something that can burn easily to start the fire like cardboard. The boxes that my new washer came in were perfect for this. Taking a candle and lighting the cardboard (matches tend to go out) started a strong fire that soon started to burn the dry brush piled nearby.

Watching that fire Saturday reminded me just like a brush fire takes work, a life that is on fire for God takes effort.

A brush fire needs two things

1. Dry wood
2. And a small flame (beginning of the fire)
   

In the same way a life on fire for God:

1. Needs wood that is ready to burn: This is a dedication to the Lord and separation from the world so that nothing will hinder your growth for him
2. And a small flame: This is the Word of God, and prayer. These sparks are used by the Holy Spirit to start a fire for the Lord
   

Also like a brush fire, a life on fire must be fed carefully. It would do no good to dump all of the limbs onto the small flame of a fire because it would almost immediately be put out! But as that flame is fed a few sticks at a time it slowly grows in it’s intensity. It’s only as we feed the flame that God has placed in our hearts constantly that the small flame can become a roaring fire.

It’s enjoyable to sit back and enjoy the sound of a fire consuming the dry twigs

But more enjoyable to see a life that is consumed by the fire of God’s presence