Burning Hearts

Luke 24:32
"They said to each other, 'Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?'"

I think we've all had these experiences - maybe at a camp, or a special worship service, or on a missions trip - when we encounter Jesus in a special way, and we come away with that feeling that our hearts are on fire! Those are good! They shape us and form us spiritually. Isn't it tempting to want to stay there, to live in that moment? I can tell you, for me, those moments always seemed to happen at church camp as a kid, or on missions trips as an adult. The passion, the excitement, the thrill of seeing God move in profound ways - it all creates this powerful mountain top experience.

We crave those experiences; we may even seek them, or attempt to recreate them. But is that the point? The mountain top may be good for us, but what good can we do the mountain? Life happens in the valleys, but God also moves in the valleys - he's with us in the valleys. We don't need a super-charged emotional experience to see that. Chambers writes:

"We cannot stay forever on the 'mount of transfiguration,' basking in the light of our mountain top experience (see Mark 9:1-9). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into practice."

That challenged me this morning. How have I encountered God in the mundane of everyday life that has set my heart on fire? I don't want to seek the emotional experience, but I do want to keep my eyes open... 'cause when he shows it to me, I don't want to miss it.