When my youngest nephew was just a little guy, around 3 or so, he would talk to me about anything and everything – and all at once. One Christmas Eve, as we all were getting situated around my parents’ huge table, I happened to catch his eye. And that was all it took to get him going on an utterly adorable but never-ending story.
I didn’t really know what he was saying much of the time, but he just had such a passion for the subject (whatever it was). I could see it in his eyes – this light, this fire burning within him that he just had to share with anyone who would listen. He went on and on and on, until finally his dad told me, “Just stop looking at him! That’s the only thing that works. As long as you look at him, he will keep talking to you.”
If you have ever had the privilege of conversing with young children about something they love, you know what I’m talking about. Whether it’s ballet or a video game or their favorite sport, they can talk about it for hours, if you’re willing to listen.
You may find yourself nodding and smiling as they go on and on about a subject that doesn’t really interest you personally. But you are watching their little faces light up as they share information that is near and dear to their hearts. And at the end of your time with them, you may have tuned out their specific words on how to play Minecraft or who’s who in Marvel comics.
But you have savored their sweet, animated faces, their ardor for their current favorite subject, and their openness and zeal in sharing it all with you. Sometimes, as adults, we are especially touched by that level of excitement because our lights tend to grow dim. Time, busyness, the demands of life, and the weariness that comes with age and hardship can extinguish our joy and douse our convictions.
That’s why I love the story of Moses. I imagine that Moses grew up feeling conflicted, straddling his birth identity and his palace one. As a Hebrew, he can identify with the other Hebrews who were slaves in Egypt at that time. He knows that he is a Hebrew by blood.
And yet Pharaoh’s daughter has raised him in the palace. He has known the pleasures of being raised Egyptian. At some point, as he comes of age, Moses has a decision to make. Will he choose to live a sheltered, luxurious life as an Egyptian in the palace? Or will he choose to identify with his people and suffer along with them?
We know that he does make this choice when he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and Moses kills that Egyptian. He has now chosen a side. He is siding with the Hebrews, but he must flee from Pharaoh, who gets word of what he has done and wants to kill him.
Moses escapes to Midian, where he takes a break beside a well and ends up playing the role of hero to the priest of Midian’s seven daughters. Shepherds try to drive the girls, who are there to water their father’s flock, away. However, Moses steps in and rescues the girls, and waters their flock.
Moses finds a home with Jethro and his seven daughters, and we read in Exodus 2:21 that Moses is content to dwell there in the desert. Now, if you’ll permit me a bit of license here, I imagine Moses finds solace in the desert with Jethro and the girls.
As one of three daughters myself, I find the fact that Jethro has seven daughters a beautiful, nurturing, healing aspect of Moses’ journey. As I read this account, I get a picture of a healthy environment, one in which perhaps Moses may have been content to stay always. He marries one of Jethro’s daughters and has two sons with her.
But of course, God has other plans for Moses – plans that ignite a spark within him and lead him on a sometimes-exhilarating, often-terrifying journey of leading the Hebrews out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land. God’s calling of Moses from a bush that is on fire – is burning, but doesn’t burn up – is a dramatic one.
Moses’ life, from there on out, is full of flaming highs and flickering lows. But we can see throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy how God lights that spark within Moses again and again. He calls to him out of a fiery bush, He lights the way of the Israelites with a pillar of fire by night, and reveals His glory through a devouring fire on the top of Mount Sinai.
When Moses comes back down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments written on stone (the second time), we read that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God (Exodus 34:29).
I think about Moses, and I think about his life’s journey. And I think about myself and my own journey, about all of us and our own experiences – how we walk through this life in relationship with God.
Initially, Moses doesn’t want to be the one to deliver God’s people. When God calls him through that burning bush and tells him that God is sending a deliverer for His people, I imagine that Moses is excited to hear this good news. But wait, there is more: Moses is to be that deliverer. And Moses has concerns. He has what seem to me to be mostly valid objections.
Moses has excuses for God, and yet God has plans for Moses. He doesn’t want Moses’ light to be snuffed out. He doesn’t want Moses living comfortably in the desert, hiding away from his God-ordained destiny. He wants Moses to be on fire, to be shining bright. He has a role for Moses in this incredible story of God’s people and ultimately, redemption and salvation that can be found in the gospel.
This is the inspiration behind this glowing ember. I had a blog years ago, when I had a preschooler at home and was in a different stage of life. It was called my italics because it was my take on life and what I was learning to be most important. Now, I’m coming back to the blogging scene, older and in an entirely new season of life (with a teenager!). And now, my focus is on keeping these embers of faith, hope, joy, and love burning in our hearts – even when we’re sad, confused, exhausted, direction-less, and plain weary of life.
Paul says it best in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 –
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever (MSG).
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