Standing Outside The Fire

  Garth Brooks’ song “Outside the Fire” has always been one of my favorite songs.  And now that I have become Orthodox it has a deeper meaning for me.  It gives me hope and lets me see that my trials are not in vain and that even in the midst of my suffering, God is doing something wonderful. Here are the lyrics to the song.  Please read my commentary on the song after the lyrics.

Standing Outside the Fire 

We call them cool
Those hearts that have no scars to show
The ones that never do let go
And risk it the tables being turned

We call them fools
Who have to dance within the flame
Who chance the sorrow and the shame
That always come with getting burned

But you got to be tough when consumed by desire
‘Cause it’s not enough just to stand outside the fire
We call them strong
Those who can face this world alone
Who seem to get by on their own
Those who will never take the fall

We call them weak
Who are unable to resist
The slightest chance love might exist
And for that forsake it all

They’re so hell bent on giving, walking a wire
Convinced it’s not living if you stand outside the fire

Chorus:
Standing outside the fire
Standing outside the fire
Life is not tried it is merely survived
If you’re standing outside the fire

There’s this love that is burning
Deep in my soul
Constantly yearning to get out of control
Wanting to fly higher and higher
I can’t abide standing outside the fire

Repeat Chorus(twice)

Before I became Orthodox I never really saw the purpose of suffering. I saw it as something to be avoided at all costs.  I always saw it as something to just get through and hoped that the light would soon come.  I never saw a benefit to it.  However, Orthodox christians really do have a gospel of suffering.  Suffering is embraced and certain forms of ascetisism are encouraged.  No, we don’t purposely inflict suffering on ourselves, but we know that true spiritual growth cannot come about without the refining fire of the Holy Trinity. 

If I don’t have suffering my life might feel good, but how deep is it?  How can I relate to those around me? It is shallow and a mere shadow of what it is meant to be.  When I talk about suffering, I mean all types of suffering. I don’t just mean suffering for the name of Christ, which of course is one type of suffering and does produce much fruit and growth. I also include in this the suffering that is caused by our own stupidity, rebelliousness, disobedience, and ignorance.  The fires from these sufferings have certainly brought many people, including me, before the Holy throne of the Most High.  I know that if I hadn’t made the mistakes that I made earlier in my life, I wouldn’t be where I am at now. Of course, one would hope that as one matures, these types of sufferings will grow fewer and fewer.

But God also calls us to be a living sacrifice, to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:1-2). This means to be constantly throwing ourselves on the flames.  The Orthodox reflect this in their many fasts throughout the liturgical years.  We are contstantly taught to deny our passions ( the Orthodox word meaning the sinful urges that control us such as gluttony, slothfullness, lust of the flesh, etc.).  When we deny our passions we suffer imensely, but our growth is immeasurable.

After I became chrismated in the Orthodox Church on June 25, 2006, the Lord gave me a spiritual sweetness that I needed desparately after all that I had been through. However, it is time for me to be put through the flames again. I feel so restless and weak. I sometimes feel like I am drowning.  But I know that the Lord will be with me through the flames, and I know that “life is not tried, it is merely survived if you are standing outside the fire.”