Fire is both good and bad; with it we heat our homes, but some sick people use it to kill. If you have ever known anyone who has been burned severely, you also know that it affects them psychologically as well as physically. The fire in this picture did a great deal of damage, but not everything was destroyed; this one grassy clump survived. This reminds me of a passage from the book of Romans.Rom 9:14-27
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? May it never be!15 For he said to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth."18 So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.19 You will say then to me, "Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will?"20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"21 Or hasn't the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?22 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath made for destruction,23 and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,24 us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles?25 As he says also in Hosea, "I will call them 'my people,' which were not my people; And her 'beloved,' who was not beloved."26 "It will be that in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' There they will be called 'children of the living God.'"27 Isaiah cries concerning Israel, "If the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, It is the remnant who will be saved;WEB
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? May it never be!15 For he said to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy.17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth."18 So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.19 You will say then to me, "Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will?"20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"21 Or hasn't the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?22 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath made for destruction,23 and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,24 us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles?25 As he says also in Hosea, "I will call them 'my people,' which were not my people; And her 'beloved,' who was not beloved."26 "It will be that in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' There they will be called 'children of the living God.'"27 Isaiah cries concerning Israel, "If the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, It is the remnant who will be saved;WEB
John (not his real name) lived in my hometown and had terrible scars from a fire. I knew him well because he rode on our school bus and I still remember him as being one very nice person. However, the fire had affected him so severely that he suffered from severe depression for the longest time and after many years he committed suicide by immolation. One day he just poured a gallon of gas over himself and lit a match. He died, but he didn't have to, because there was then and is now a way out of any circumstance. I truly wish he had put his trust in God and given over his pain to Jesus. However, not everyone will listen and not everyone will obey. When things are tough, when pain and sorrow are the worst, God is right there, ready to preserve you like that little lump of green in the picture. God works in very unusual ways; but remember, he has the RIGHT TO DO AS HE WISHES. Its not up to us to question God as to why things happen; its just our part to listen and obey. That can be a very tough road to hoe, but the reward for obeying God lasts a long, long time. I miss John, but his life provides me with an example of what not to do. Gary, reread this and listen yourself; you need to trust a whole lot more than you have! Anybody out there feel the same?