“Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.” – Acts 2:3
When I was in school, Bunsen burner experiments during Science lessons taught me that fire is not just fire. Fire appeared in different colours – the flames could be blue, white, yellow or red. What do the different colours actually mean?
Simplistically speaking, the colours of the flame tell you about the temperature of that portion. The blue portion is the hottest part, the yellow portion is less hot and the orange portion is least hot compared to the others. In other words, the further you get from the centre of the flame, the lower the temperature of that portion would be. Extending the analogy further, the further one’s finger is away from the centre of the flame, one is less likely to be affected by the flame itself.
It’s interesting to me how this parallels our walk with God. The further we get from having God as the centre of our lives, we are less likely to be ‘on fire’ for God. And this also means that the ‘temperature’ we give off is not able to impact those whom we come into contact with.
What colour is your flame today? Are you able to say with confidence that the colour of the flame you have is clearly blue? Or is it yellow, or somewhere in between? The story of the Day of Pentecost reminds us that we can burn brightly when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. So, invite the Holy Spirit to fill you today that your flame can impact others powerfully for God.