Son Burn

In just a few days I will be boarding a plane and heading to Panama City, FL where I will be preaching to a few hundred students at a youth camp. While thinking about this camp a few days and seeking direction for what to preach, I thought how those students will go out to the beach during the day and get sun burned. They are not used to being out in the sun that much. They will run and play on the beach. They will body surf in the waves and swim in the ocean waters. They will forget about the sun cooking their skin.

I then thought how they will come to worship at night and be SON burned in the presence of our glorious Savior. We all need to be Son burned. Our hearts grow cold and overloaded by the mundane affairs of everyday life. We lose our zeal and our passion. Much like the dark skin tones of the summer fade with the fall and winter, so do our souls lose their color and vibrancy as they fade into mediocrity and lukewarmness.

We all need some Son burn. That happens for me in the privacy of my office, in my living room, and off at quiet retreats as I sit and soak in the presence of my Lord. Jesus burns on my soul the truth of His word. At times it comforts me and renews my strength. At other times His burn breaks my heart for my lack of faithfulness. Regardless I need to sit before Him and let His presence burn into the deep crevices of my soul. I need the Lord Jesus to sit on the throne of my heart with power and sovereign authority.

My flesh does not want to linger before the Lord. My flesh hates the Light and longs to run to the dark. O how I need the Son to burn in me. I need His Son burn as much or more than any student who will be at that camp. I need His word to sink in and to draw me deeper and deeper into Him. I need to slow down and tarry with Him. I am looking forward to quiet strolls down the beach and early morning encounters with the Lord sitting on the deserted sands. I want Jesus to burn in me as the waves relentlessly pound the shore and then are drug back into the deep. In the same way I need the troubles, concerns, and demands of this life to be drug from my weary soul allowing my soul to breathe and come to life.

While getting sun burned can cause skin damage being SON burned can only make you more like Christ. We could all use more of that. My challenge for all us is to do something many did when they were younger. Remember how you would lay out in the sun to tan. Now they do that with tanning beds. I recall going to the pool and there would be people laid out all around the pool on colorful beach towels turning a crisp golden brown lathered down with sun tanning oil. People would bask in the sun for hours.

I am challenging all of us to do the same thing in the presence of the SON. I am urging us all to sit before Him and to bask in His presence until our hearts and souls are warmed with new love for Him. Just like you can tell when someone has been sun burned, may the masses see the effects of our SON burn. May they see a deeper love, a stronger zeal, and may they feel the warmth of the blazing fire in our souls because we have been Son burned. Look out students. Here comes the SON!