Every so often, I take a Sunday and do “Ministry by Wandering Around” while someone else brings the message.  On Sundays like this, I get to walk slowly through the halls, popping into different LIFE Groups, coloring pictures with the preschoolers (I can stay between the lines better than any of them), and thanking volunteers. 

On a recent Ministry by Wandering Around Sunday, I made my way over to the Student Ministry building to check things out.  I popped into one class of eighth-graders and plopped down on an empty spot on the couch.  The young lady to my right leaned as far as possible away from me.  I asked her if my being there made her uncomfortable.  She said, “No, it’s just that I have never been this close to you before.”  I assured her I was a real person just like her.  I told her, “I even have BO.”  She replied, “I know.”  

In another middle school group, I came in just as the lesson started.  The group leader asked a great question: “If your house was on fire, and all the people and the animals were already outside, and you could only get one object out of the house, what would you get?” 

It was a heavy question for middle schoolers and for adults.  I was thinking about my answer when the group leader shared his.  “I would grab the long rifle that belonged to my grandfather,” he said.  “He gave it to me, and I want my son to have it.” 

A girl spoke up and said she would rescue her posterboard.  An odd choice, but I guess it would depend on the pictures you had on it.  A boy shared he would get his glass-encased CD of Star Wars: A New Hope.  A classic collectible, to be sure.  One girl shared at length that she saw a show about being prepared for emergencies and she had an emergency backpack already prepared.  She would grab that.  I was impressed by her preparation. 

Another adult talked about grabbing all her pictures.  A couple of boys said they would get their gaming systems.  One girl shared she would take her bead-making supplies. 

Finally, it was my turn.  I told them I would grab my iPhone.  I would want to be able to call my family and friends and tell them I was okay. 

The best answer came from a young man with a beanie pulled down low.  He said, “I would grab my shoes.” Smart.  Have you run out of the house without your shoes?  There are rocks and sand spurs out in the yard. 

I had to excuse myself at this point to make my way around to other groups.  I thought about some adults I know and how they would answer that question.  I am sure some women would talk about grabbing their purse.  From what I have seen, some women could live out of their purses for a week if need be.  My cousins in Florida would surely say they would grab their pocketknives; “A good man can survive with his wits and his pocketknife.”  Other friends would pull their bass boat out of the garage or their perfectly restored ’65 Mustang convertible. 

I know the question posed to the middle schoolers was different; it assumed the people we loved were already safe.  But that question was theoretical.  God faces a real situation.  The world is on fire.  Not literally, perhaps, but there is a spiritual fire that threatens every human soul.  The name for that fire is “sin.”  Its destructive power reaches out and consumes people.  Sin fire destroys families, communities, and nations.  It has been here a long time. 

The only thing powerful enough to vanquish that fire is the pure love of Jesus, poured out on the cross, and roaring out of the tomb on Resurrection Day.  His love envelopes sin like a water curtain and puts it out.  That is what Jesus followers mean when they talk about the Good News. 

In this world on fire, there is not one possession God wants, not one physical thing.  He would want every person to be saved, even if they were the ones that started the fire.  Isn’t that why Paul wrote, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  We lit the fire of sin.  We keep it stoked.  Yet Jesus offers us his forgiveness, his peace, his love.  He delivers us from our own smokey mess.  

Remember, all the stuff on earth is just temporary.  It’s nice to have, but the stuff in your life is not the most important thing.  The most important thing is your relationship with God.  Thank God he deemed you important enough to save.  That’s why Jesus went to the cross: to put out your fire and save you.