When Bubonic Plague invaded the heart of London in 1665, no one was immune to its curse. Borne by fleas living as parasites on rats, the horrific disease known as Black Death raged with ferocity, shutting down entire cities at the first sign of sickness. The streets grew empty, for as soon as one person broke out with the dreaded black lumps, the entire household was sealed, condemning them all to die. Afflicted families painted a red cross on the door, along with the words: Lord have mercy on us. Every night workers called for the corpses, carrying them in a cart to be buried in plague pits outside the city. Truly there appeared to be no stopping the vicious killer.

If that weren't enough, a seemingly worse catastrophe struck in 1666 -- the Great Fire of London. A blazing inferno burst forth and With uncontainable fury engulfed building after building in flames, completely gutting much of the city's center. But in a strange twist of fate, this tragedy turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for the fire destroyed most of the black rats that had carried the plague germs. As the weeks went by following the fire's finish, the spread of the dreaded disease came to an end as well.

The irony that the Great Fire of London both destroyed and saved the city powerfully portrays the paradox we find in Jesus as a Consuming Fire. Scripture tells us that He is a continual burning, that His touch alone makes mountains smoke, that His very presence melts them. Christ's eyes are a flame of fire, His throne ablaze with flames as He reigns from a sea of glass mixed with fire. When He returns to this earth He will be revealed amidst His angels and flaming fire. The very substance of God is a fiery force that causes the earth to tremble, and from whom men will one day flee in terror.

And yet, one dark day some 2000 years ago, the fire of God's love burned on a cross called Calvary. Bearing the sins of the world, Jesus became a holy holocaust, consuming forever the plague that had doomed humankind to hopeless devastation. Now, new life springs eternally by His Spirit within those who trust in Him, and day after day He burns within our souls, demolishing every vestige of self that threatens this life He has given.

Like the ‘burn’ that fire fighters often purposefully set to keep future fires from blazing out of control, Christ, the Consuming Fire enflames the edges of our lives, drawing ever closer to those things that seem so dear to us. In ways that can be painful and even terrifying, He makes of this world's treasures a smoldering ruin, for He knows that one day all that is not of Him will vanish like smoke before our eyes. He incinerates our worthless works in His fiery orb, that our labor here not be in vain (1 Corinthians 3:12-13).

As a Consuming Fire, Jesus longs for us to be sparkling gems, refined by Him to display His dazzling glory. Because He alone knows the motives and hidden secrets of our hearts, at times He intensifies the heat until it seems almost unbearable. Indeed, if not for His grace, who of us could live with His continual burning? He sits like a smelter above us, increasing the flame until the dross comes to the surface so that He can wipe it away, that His glorious image may shine (Isaiah 33:14, Malachi 3:1-3).

Though our spiritual lives may seem at times like flickering wicks, there is coming a day when they will blaze brightly with the full radiance of His glory. As the writer of Hebrews assures us, we need not fear the final destruction of hell's vast flames, for we will not come to a mountain that if touched would kill us, nor to a blazing fire. Instead, we will come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. We will not come to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, but to myriad’s of angels and to the church -- people made perfect by His blood. We will not appear in fear and trembling before the terrifying voice of God, but worship at the feet of Jesus, the Mediator of the a new covenant.