“Only you can prevent forest fires!” was the slogan Smokey the Bear often repeated years ago. The implication was that all forest fires are bad and are always to be avoided.
For 100 years, forest services attempted to extinguish every fire. We know better today. While forest fires can certainly be destructive and threatening to life and property, we have learned that forest fires also have benefits.
In fact, most forest services now use controlled burns to destroy combustible materials on the forest floor. This limits the severity of wildfires, benefiting large trees and the general life cycle of the forest. So, forest fires can sometimes be friendly to the forest and to human safety.
The human soul needs friendly fire as well. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit rushed among the gathered disciples of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem. The sound was of a rushing wind, something like the roar of a forest fire. There appeared over the heads of the disciples tongues of fire. The flames did not burn people with heat, but the disciples did burn and glow with the Holy Spirit.
This was not the first time fire symbolize of the presence and activity of God. Moses met God at a burning bush. Years later, after he met with God on Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, his face shone like a burning sun.
As the fire of the Spirit descended upon the disciples in the temple on the day of Pentecost, they began to praise God ecstatically. Foreign visitors in the temple understood them in their native languages, languages the disciples had never learned.
It was as if the tower of Babel had been reversed. At the Tower of Babel, everyone had spoken one language, but suddenly everyone began speaking different languages so that they could not understand each other, destroying their community.
On the day of Pentecost everyone spoke different languages, but when the Spirit of God descended, they could all understand each other. The Christian community was born!
In response to Peter’s preaching, visitors from all over the known world came to believe in Jesus as God’s Son and the Messiah. They repented of their sins and were baptized in Jesus’ name. Pentecost became the birthday of the Church. Since that day, the Church has been working together to bring the world to Jesus, the Savior.
The Holy Spirit is the unseen presence of God. He is one with both the Father and the Son. The greatest miracle of Pentecost is that God, by His Spirit, is willing to inhabit our hearts, unifying us with God.
There are seven “C’s” of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. First is conception. The Holy Spirit empowers us to experience a spiritual rebirth, and we are changed from being mere creatures created by God to being adopted as the children of God.
Second is connection. God comes to live in us and our hearts cry “Abba, Father!” for we experience unity with the divine being.
Third is comfort. The Spirit has become our counselor. He ministers the presence of Jesus to our hearts and brings us to a state of peace and trust.
Fourth is conversation. The Holy Spirit inhabits our prayers and empowers us to hear the voice of God in our hearts. The Spirit interprets the Bible and mere words on paper become God’s Word to us.
Fifth is conviction. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins and shortcomings and leads us to repentance, holiness, healing, and Christian maturity. Although each of us has deep wounds, our souls are gradually healed and we are changed from one degree of glory to another as we increasingly reflect the love and peace of Jesus in our daily lives.
Sixth is community. Not only are we brought into unity with God, but also with the family of God. Our relationships with others are healed. We learn to support and care for each other. We work together to accomplish our tasks of bringing the love of Jesus to others and making disciples.
Seventh and finally, the recipients of the Spirit experience combustion. The Spirit in us is like a combustion engine which empowers us to do the work of God in the world. The disciples caught fire on Pentecost and took the Gospel message to the world. Soon, the whole world was burning with good news that a Savior has entered our world to save and heal us.
Come, Holy Spirit, come. Let the fire of God burn within us.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
