Chaplain Gerald E. Brock, Darlington County, SC, Fire District Station 8; “Fear Not,” the Firefighting Dog

SERVICE AND LOVE

We can be a vessel of Christ’s love

One winter day, the Darlington County Fire District was paged out to a fast-spreading major field fire. The threat was such that three of our four fire stations were toned out. My friend, George, told dispatch he’d be standing by at Station 8 in case he was needed. I headed to the station to join him. Three hours passed as the firefighters fought to control this fire. While George and I waited to see if we’d be called out, the tone went out for another fire. A bale of hay was burning, so we figured it would be easy to put it out. When we arrived, we realized how misled we were. Instead of a simple hay fire, it was a brush fire that covered nearly two acres.

Our church’s Wednesday night prayer service is a fellowship with other Christians that I seldom miss, but this call came on a Wednesday, causing me to miss the service. When friends from church mentioned how they’d missed me, I told them I felt I was serving other people by protecting life and property. This was not a lame excuse, for I do honor God’s command, “Let us not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25). Jesus Christ also said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). As a fire chaplain, I take this command seriously and am blessed to join my department on calls, pray for them, assist where needed, and be a vessel for Christ by loving them as Christ loves us.

Regardless of your role in life, you can be that vessel of Christ’s love. Fellowship with other Christians is essential to grow in our Christian walk. Sharing his love and serving in his name is equally important. When you combine this with internalizing His Word, you will be a tool that will put out eternal fires as well as a delight to the Lord.

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for allowing me to have the training and skills to help others in need. Thank you for other Christian firefighters who serve you and their communities. May you protect us and our families as we serve others. My prayer is that you can say you delight in me. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, amen.

We would like to thank AMG Publishers, G. Reynolds, and S. Reynolds for providing this plan. For the complete devotional or more information, visit: battlefieldsandblessings.com. To learn more about AMG International's gospel work around the world, visit: amginternational.org.