Fire Breathing Dragons

“…but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading to Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?’ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. And he said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.’ And he said, ‘for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.’” Luke 9:55-56 (NKJV)

When my kids were little Bruce would play a game with them which would get them all worked up. At bedtime I never wanted to hear those words from Bruce that prompted screaming, running and out of control playing, ‘I’m a fire, I’m a fire, I’m a fire-breathing dragon!’ This was the igniter of chaos! It was where father and kids ran about wildly, loudly and excitedly. Looking back now it is one of my fondest memories.

I can’t help to believe that when these disciples made the same claim about producing fire Jesus felt the same sense of dread I did though for different reasons. How many times have we looked at a situation and breathed our own fire of indignation and judgment upon our prey? How many times does Jesus look upon our hearts and whisper those same words, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.’

In my own past I know that I have flung on that hero cape and shot myself like a bullet out of a gun telling Jesus, ‘I will take care of this!’ I was self-appointed savior in my circumstances as the role of fire breathing dragon came way too easily for me. God stepped aside and allowed me to feel the weight of a so-called hero which made me buckle at the knees. My fire became a puff of smoke extinguished with no light. All that was left was the bad breath of a dragon. No matter how hard we try to respond we will default to our lower nature, our flesh.

Joanna Weaver writes, ‘Carnal thinking and carnal responses come naturally to us humans. Pre-programmed into our operating system since the Fall, our lower nature is our default mode. But what seems right to our natural minds rarely aligns with what God would have us do.'

So I pray the prayer of David, Psalm 139:23-24, ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart…See if there is any offensive way in me.’