Why does Jesus say that He has come to “set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing?” In order to understand this we have to first explore what God means by fire, and what it means to be already blazing. But do not be confused, He literally means fire, and literally means that He wishes the world was already ablaze.
Lets begin with God in heaven. Deuteronomy 2:24 says: “For the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” And Hebrews 12:29 says: “For our God is a consuming fire.” We know from the church fathers, that the highest choir of angels in heaven, those closest to God the Father, are called seraphim. This word translates to “the burning ones.” They are burning because they are closest to God in Heaven and they are set ablaze by His passionate love. There are more references in the bible, but it is clear that this fire is not a metaphor or an analogy, it is description of a reality.
But this fire is not the fire that burns away hay and straw like fire does in this world. God’s fire only burns away one thing, sin, and you will only be burned by this fire if you cling to your sin and reject God’s loving mercy. Jesus said in his gospels that “nothing unclean can enter heaven.” And so, If you have sin in your heart, you are unclean. And if you are unclean, then you cannot enter heaven. But this is not because you are being barred at the gate by angels, rather the gates of Heaven are wide open to all that want to enter. But to enter in a state of attachment to sin would be too painful, because to be in God’s presence in a state of sin would be like walking into a burning building. The closer you get the more painful it would become. Thus it is that those that cling to their sin run away from that fire, and reject the offer of God’s divine love. And as C.S. Lewis said, “Hell is a prison cell, where the door locks from the inside.” Thus the choice of heaven or hell is entirely your own to make.
Frank Sheed in his incredible book “theology for beginners” talks about eternity, but does so in a way that I have never heard before. He says eternity is not a measurement of time, but instead, a measurement of perfection. Thus, we understand that time is a gift from God. A gift that is given to all of us who are not perfect yet…, those who still need to reconcile our sin with God and ultimately over time let go of our attachment to sin. God in heaven is already perfect, He does not need to change, He does not need to improve, He is the quintessence of perfection in every way, and that is why He is in eternity. But we are not, and we have “many miles to go before we sleep.”
So our lives then, are a series of steps towards perfection, and a purging of sin from our lives. We may succeed and we may fall away many times throughout our lives, but the progression is always ultimately toward a more perfect version of ourselves. But if die in a loving relationship with God, we can be assured of Purgatory. Purgatory sadly is a controversial theory among many christians, but it is well attested throughout the bible. For a thorough explanation I would suggest this article by John Martingnoni. But Purgatory is the place where the final burning away of the last remnants of our sin will happen. It is a place where the troubled souls can see the glory of God, but are close enough to still feel the pain or our attachment to sin. And the time we spend in purgatory is spent to let go of our sin, and step by step, to move closer and closer to God until finally all of our attachments to our sins are finally gone, and our love for God our neighbor is all the remains.
When we are finally, completely free of sin, then (and only then) can we finally enter the presence of God Himself, and bask in the glory of His love and perfection. If we have even the slightest remnant of sin in ourselves, we will not be able to bear the pain of His burning fire of love. Concomitantly, this is why hell is a place of eternal suffering. Those in hell are also close enough to God to feel the burning pain of their sin, because of their rejection of God, and their attachment to sin. Their pride and hatred only bolsters more sin in their hearts and their prideful attachment to their sin burns even more in more in their heart, and so they retreat step by step into the darkness, until the light of God’s love is so dim, but the presence of that little dim light hurts them more than any pain in this world.
So when Jesus says that He wishes the world were ablaze, He is not saying that He wants to cast souls into hell, but rather He is longing for all of that sin that we cling to, to be burned away from us completely, so that we can progress from sinners to saints, and ultimately so we can be together with Him, in the perfection of Heaven for all eternity. The thing that God wants more than anything else, is for each and every one of us to be in a loving relationship with Him, and the only thing that prevents that from happening is sin. That sin is what separates us in this world, and it is what will ultimately divide us forever in eternity. And that divide is forever, you have this time right now, to make a change and choose the good over the bad, the truth over the lies, and the beauty of God over the ugliness of the evil one. What do you choose? Your eternity depends on it. Ask yourself right now, what is the thing that is keeping you from getting closer to God, and start today the process of burning that sin out of your heart, and ultimately taking that next step to get closer to His passionate fire of love.
