Burned!

Getting burned is such a painful thing to happen. Sometimes you see it coming and sometimes you don't. There are the times when you go to grab a pan from the stove and accidently put your hand in a spot where it is way too hot. Immediately, you pull back from the pan and feel the effects from the burn. Other times you aren't really suprised by the burn at all, like when you have been out in the sun for 7 hours and you chose not to put sunscreen on your body. Either way it is painful, whether it is a surprise or you could see it coming.
The same thing happens when people "burn" you. A "burn" by a person is when you are hurt by another individual. Unfortunately and fortunately, as a pastor, I have found myself burned quite a bit. You try to help someone and they end up getting mad at you for helping. Or somebody is filling their heads with lies and you get burned on the other end. Or you've put so much time and energy into helping someone, but it still isn't enough for the person. To be perfectly honest, I feel like I get burned all the time. And I can say with all sincerity that I never did anything mean or milicious on purpose. This is the unfortunate part, but on the fortunate side I get to identify with Christ. Let me explain this...
When you are on a team you become part of a special group because you have gone through all the pain and heartache together. There is a major disconnect when a new member joins a team because that new member hasn't been through what everyone else has been through. As a believer who is attempting to identify with Christ daily, getting burned by people is one of the biggest identifiers. Christ only came to help and show people the Kingdom, yet they killed him for it. He was beaten, mocked, and ulitmately burned by even his closest followers. Yet, he was never bitter and kept moving forward.
The danger in being burned so many times is that you get an attitude and close yourself off from others. When this happens, then we are limited in our growth potential. So, here's the deal, you may be scared to get involved in a situation or do the right thing because you have been burned so many times before, but the truth of the matter is sometimes you just have to get burned and get through it. At a wedding I once performed, the bride could not get the unity candle lit and she was getting very nervous and upset. I saw that the hot wax had engulfed the wick. The only thing to do was get the hot wax out, so I used by hand to do it. I knew it would burn and hurt, but these kids needed to get married. Do what you know to do even if that means being burned. It is an excellent way to identify with Christ and remember that he can heal those wounds.