Me, God, and the Fire Chief

READ: DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9; PSALM 1:1-2; MATTHEW 22:36-40

I recently accepted a job working in the office of my local fire department. This was something I never expected to do. I had very little knowledge about how fire departments even worked. But the fire chief knew this when he proposed the plan for me to take over some of his responsibilities. He knew it would be a long journey, but he offered to take the time to teach me.

Since then, I’ve fallen in love with my position. I spend hours working with the chief to learn what he does. I have a picture of the firefighters to memorize names and faces. I put military time on my phone to understand how their 24-hour shifts are recorded. I made a study guide that I add to daily as I learn new information. I’ve read up on topics like mental health in firefighters, consolidating fire and police forces into public safety officers, cancer in firefighters, and how to support them. I ask a million questions: "How do you name fire engines? What do fire investigators do? How do you become a captain or lieutenant?" All that I’m learning consumes my thoughts, day and night. I see fire trucks and stations everywhere I go.

And this made me wonder, maybe I can pursue knowing God, His Word, and my role as a Christian like I am learning to be an assistant in the fire department. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, God calls His people to learn Scripture and think about His Word every day, all throughout the day. As we read the Bible, we get to know more about Jesus and how to live in relationship with Him. The more time we spend in God’s Word, the more we’ll be reminded of Scripture and God’s promises everywhere we go. Dedicating ourselves to learning Scripture could include using the tools we have available to us, like putting verses as our screen backgrounds or researching Bible study resources like scholarly books, articles, videos, and podcasts.

The fire chief wanted me to work there even though he knew I would be learning from scratch and there would be lots of failures ahead. When I’m struggling to get something, he is patient and forgiving. In the same way, God knows we won’t be perfect, and He has covered all our imperfections through Jesus’s death and resurrection (Romans 3:23-24). We could never uphold God’s law perfectly, but Jesus did. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we are His forever, and God helps us grow in loving Him and loving others as He loves us. • Natty Maelle

• What are some practical ways you could take time to ponder God’s Word this week?

“I [Jesus] did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” Matthew 5:17b (NLT)