Rather than give the seemingly obligatory first post that states "I never thought I would...but now I am," or "I finally broke down and started a blog," or some other variant of said post, I would rather jump right in. So, here I am, blogger world.
It is a firefighter's nightmare... the day his brother falls in a fire and needs rescuing. Unfortunately, given the unavoidably dangerous atmosphere that firefighters are asked to endure, scenarios like this are inevitable. Firefighters train for this through drill after drill, but the moment it happens, I am quite certain all training goes out the window and it is simply a matter of a race against the clock. I have embedded this video as an explanation of what I mean (warning, not suitable for all viewers):
I personally feel very blessed that I have never had to experience anything like this, yet it reminds me of my own faith journey in so many ways. By now, you most likely know that I am a firefighter--a volunteer to be exact--and if you know anything about firefighters, we relate almost every aspect of our life to those experiences.
In my life, I was blessed to have been in a Christian since around the age of 6. However, during a time in high school, I feel away from that faith and struggled both behaviorally and spiritually. There was not one single moment in my life where I was rescued, yet a series of events led to me eventually reigniting my faith, "rescuing me from the dominion of darkness," as Colossians 1 states. So, as a Christian, I needed rescuing. And I received the rescue operation that I needed.
In addition to the thought of being rescued, I also think about the firefighters who are performing the rescue. You see, I believe that Christ gave specific commands to his followers that stated we are to be rescuers to others who are in danger of falling. But his command didn't go unfunded... with this mandate, he gave the resources with which to rescue his creation. First, he gave a community, which is much like the brotherhood of firefighters. This community is intended to be strengthened through their gatherings and in their commonality in Christ to the extent that they should have a desire to see others rescued as they have too been rescued. With this community comes the second resource, the Bible. The canon itself is filled with story after story of people being rescued from the dominion of darkness, yet Christians so often forget that this book is a blueprint to guide in these rescue efforts. Finally, he gave not only a community and not only a book, but himself. He is the martyred example of how to rescue people from the dominion of darkness. It is through him that rescue can even be made. If it was a cause that he believed was worth giving the ultimate sacrifice for, it is a cause that Christians should seek to model in their own lives. As Penn--yes, the athiest magician of Penn and Teller--stated, "how much do you have to hate someone, if you believe there is a God and a heaven and a hell, not to proselytize?" You see, this man Jesus, in whom I claim to believe, died for a cause in which I claim to believe. If I, a follower of Jesus, truly believe that this world is need of God's rescuing hand, and that I possess the necessary information with which to perform the rescue, and I fail to do so, then there is no rational explanation other than hate. So, we are given a community, a spoken word, and a martyred example with which to share a method of example. In my metaphor of fire and rescue services, the martyred example would be fallen heroes of the past, from whom we can learn to prevent future disaster.
So, where do we go from here? The simple answer is to go and perform the rescue for which we have been trained and equipped. As I close this post, I think about the firefighter in the video embedded above. If you watched it to about 1:20, then you saw the darkness come crashing around him. I have been there--not physically; not literally. I praise God that I have not been in such a scenario in real life... but spiritually, that is where I have been. Yet I was rescued. By God's hand, through my wife, through my family, through my friends, I have received the rescue I so desperately needed. So again, I say, as Penn already did, "How much do we have to hate--if we believe in God and Heaven and Hell-- to not share in the news which could rescue others from the Dominion of Darkness?
On a lighter note: I felt like sharing a fun video as well. This week, I had the pleasure of doing some live fire training with my brothers of the Potosi Volunteer Fire Department. For those who have ever been just a little bit curious of what a real fire is like, here is a thermal imager video taken from inside the fire. Enjoy.
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