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Daily Devotional

Fireflies and Sparklers

By Dr. Carolyn Tennant
Read Colossians 1:9-14

Fireflies always remind me of my childhood and our big back yard with the brick grill sitting under the maple tree. Somehow fireflies have attached themselves to the memory of sparklers, my little brother, cookouts, and the Fourth of July. After lingering around the picnic table, we would run around with the sparklers held high in our hands, chasing each other and trying to catch fireflies at the same time. When we were sufficiently exhausted, sticky with sweat but happy, we would pile into the house for cold tapioca pudding studded with fresh raspberries freshly picked from our garden. It was magnificent!

Driving through the region of my childhood home in my later years, this rush of memories crowded in as I observed hundreds of fireflies blinking on and off in the cornfields. I smiled to myself and began to think. Many of my high school friends who had shown so much promise were doing very little. Some had started off strong but were crumpling in mid-life. They were like the sparklers, flaring and ablaze for a time, but later they turned into a burnt-out stick with toppling carbon.

Memories of other people I had known throughout my life came flooding in—people who had been aflame for the Lord, sending forth beautiful sparks of light, but now apparently not even serving Him.

God places great value on endurance, steadiness, and persistence. He doesn't expect us to become burnt-out sparklers or to be fireflies that blink on and off. His analogy calls us to be lights and not ones hidden under a bushel basket, either. He takes great delight in quiet, unwavering service that is consistent, the kind that keeps going and growing. Why? "So that you may have great endurance and patience" (verse 11).

For leaders, these are especially important qualities. If we blink off and on like the fireflies, people can't figure out where we are. They dart around after us, just like we did as children trying to catch the fireflies. Then they become tired and exhausted.

People need steady light from their leaders. Flash and pizzazz can be maintained only for a while. It looks great for a time, producing a reaction of amazement and awe, but in the long run, people deserve more than a dead stick that can't even be relit.

Sparklers, anyone?... No?

DR. CAROLYN TENNANT is a Professor of English at North Central University, an Assemblies of God school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is an ordained Assemblies of God minister who maintains an active schedule preaching in churches, district events, family camps and overseas.

The devotionals you enjoy each day on Leaders Unlimited are taken from Frontline: A Devotional Guide for Christian Leaders, by Dr. Carolyn Tennant. To order your own copy, download a Frontline Order Form.