***Be forewarned - there are a lot of pictures in this post****
Verse 10: Jesus said, “I have thrown fire upon the world, and look, I am watching it until it blazes.”
Well, I think it’s safe to say that Christianity blazed through the world like wildfire.
The question everyone needs to ask themselves is why. What was it about the lessons that Jesus shared that attracted people from every part of the world?
I’ve mentioned before that I wasn’t brought up in the church. I’m not a fan of organized religion because, more often than not, the leaders of the churches are wolves in shepherd’s clothing. I could go on and on about the pedophiles hiding in the churches or the absolutely confusing merger between the church and the state; I mean, God is the ultimate authority, so what the hell is the church doing partnering with politicians? I’ll give you one word:
I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that greed is one of the seven deadly sins. I wonder if those church leaders heard about them?
Okay, so let’s get back to why Jesus' teachings attracted so many people. Here’s another thing to ponder: Jesus knew the value of every single word that he spoke, so why did he choose to use a fire analogy? I have thrown fire upon the world, he said.
Where do we feel heat in our bodies? Doesn’t it start in our hearts? Our heart is where emotion is felt. Emotion sends signals to our brain, which sends out signals along neural pathways to our endocrine system. The glands and organs of our endocrine system release chemicals that create heat. We feel warmth when we’re embarrassed, and we also feel warmth when we feel accepted, aroused, and loved.
Divine truth, at least the way I understand it, comes to us, usually during a meditative state when we genuinely want it. Remember, God, or the Universal Mind if you prefer, knows when we are genuine because it reads our hearts. Our heart is where truth resides, which means it is also where truth is felt. I don’t know about you, but when I felt truth in my heart, I also felt warmth.
We learn a lot of things through reading, formal education, and conversations with others, but I don’t think it’s possible to learn a truth. I think we recognize truth.
Everything that Jesus taught resonated with millions of people because, even if the person sharing the lesson got the interpretation wrong, a part of us heard a truth. After all, isn’t it the truth that sets us free?
When I was working through my trauma, I asked God to help me understand what had happened to me and why. I sure the hell would have never forgiven the people who harmed me if left to my own egoic reasoning because I couldn’t have ever seen the experience from a different angle. I was always seeing it through my wounds because the emotional pain I felt in my heart from the hurt was intense, but when I was ready to heal those wounds, I learned the truth through prayer, which, to me, is the same as meditation. It was in the silence and genuine wanting that I received the answers. The answers warmed my heart.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that it was Jesus who said that if we ask, it will be given. I know the church teaches that we have to ask in Jesus’ name, but somehow, I think that was one of those misinterpretations I mentioned. I think that the way is in the teachings of Jesus, so if we want to know, we simply read what he taught, and we’ll learn how to ask and receive.
Okay, let’s look at another explanation for the use of the fire analogy. I live in Alberta, Canada, an hour from the majestic Rocky Mountains and acres and acres of absolutely beautiful forest.
This picture was taken in Waterton Valley in early June of 2017, two months before a wildfire tore through this region, scorching every one of these trees, killing wildlife, and changing the landscape entirely.
There’s a scenic road that winds up through a mountain pass and takes you to Cameron Lake. Along the road, there used to be paths winding through the forest, lined with strange-looking, albeit beautiful flowers. This plant is called Bear’s grass. I had never seen anything like it before I went to Waterton National Park. It is one of the many treasures you can find there.
This is me, well, technically the back of me, in a canoe on Cameron Lake, which is at the end of that winding road I just mentioned.
Waterton National Park and Montana’s Glacier National Park are the same park—at least to the bears, cougars, and deer who live in them. These parks share the title of International Peace Park. When I paddled to the shoreline here in Cameron Lake, I was technically in the state of Montana. All of those trees were consumed by fire.
The last picture I just have to share is this one, and I also need to mention that, for some reason, none of the trees at the top of this canyon were burned. Just before you pull into the parking lot at Cameron Lake, you’ll see a line of fir trees completely untouched by the fire. It’s one of those miracles that occasionally happen!
This waterfall is in the village of Waterton. I can sit for a long time on the bench beside this waterfall as I find the sound of the water soothing.
In August 2017, a wildfire raged through the area, burning nearly 40% of the park. Click on the picture to see more of the devastation.
Despite the beliefs of the climate alarmists, wildfires aren’t a new phenomenon. Fires have been ravaging forests for millions of years because, like fires, weather patterns tend to cycle. These forests have burned before and regrown. It takes a long time, but when they do burn, the fire regenerates the earth with much-needed nutrients.
Three years after the fire, you can see how much new growth is on the forest floor. The green of this new plant life is stunning against the charred black tree trunks.
This waterfall is in Blackiston Valley, about a mile hike from the parking lot of Red Rock Canyon at the far west end of the park. You can see in the distance how many trees were scorched from the fire.
When the Kenow fire tore through this valley, I was devastated. I had just found this treasure—this beautiful park—and then it felt as though nature had taken it away. I wanted to keep it just the way I found it because it is different from all the other mountain parks here in Alberta. There’s a serenity here that I can’t even describe, but three years later, I found new treasures. There was plant life that hadn’t grown there for decades because the sun couldn’t reach the forest floor. These plants replace specific nutrients that the trees consume. Nature will look after itself if we can step aside from our massive egos and greed and quit trying to control and exploit it.
Jesus knew exactly what he was saying when he used the fire analogy. At the time that Jesus was teaching, there was a lot of political tyranny in the region - kind of like there is now……jus’ sayin’……...
Jesus taught empowerment. Empowered people don’t take well to tyranny because they know and understand that no man has the right to rule over another.
When Christianity raged through the area, things drastically changed. It took time, but as more people became empowered through the teachings of Jesus, they were then motivated to enact changes that would benefit all of humanity. That was until the greed of men took hold again. Hmmmm, those pesky cycles!
As each of us regenerates from the abuse and trauma that raged like wildfire through our childhoods and becomes empowered by learning who we really are, we then go on to regenerate our families and communities, and, ultimately, as the ripple of our newfound energy widens, all of humanity,
Finally, remember - fire must devastate before it can regenerate.