Fire & Flames

​ By the grace of the fire and the flames/You're the face of the future", Believer by Imagine Dragons (from the album Evolve)
 
Imagine Dragons' song, Believer from their album Evolve combines Pentecostal elements that talks about fire, flames, grace, and the future.  This song reminds me of  Acts 2: 1-4:
 
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
 
By the grace of the fire and the flames
 
On the day of Pentecost, the Twelve Apostles and other Christians were gathered in Jerusalem awaiting the presence of the Holy Spirit as was promised.  At some point on the tenth day after the Ascension of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit descended.  The Holy Spirit did come "...like a sound...from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind..."  The multitudes gathered that day of Promise and saw the Holy Spirit appear to them as "...tongues of fire, distributed and resting on each of them."  After that moment, the multitude who spoke in different languages understood each other.  This wiped out the stain of the Tower of Babel where God stopped people from building a tower high enough to reach Him.  After the Pentecost, He is no longer angry but loving and forgiving.  The citizens of Jerusalem no longer doubt God's Grace or the truth about the Resurrection of Christ.
In the song Believer,  the poet begins as a selfish person.  Someone who cannot converse with others.  He's closed off and private.  He feels misunderstood and in emotional pain.  It's as if he's speaking a different language.  He sees himself as different which is an obstacle.  Just like the Tower of Babel was man's obstacle against cooperation and unity.  In constant pain, the poet can't relate to the world around him.
Slowly over time, he begins to evolve as a person.  He becomes a little more outgoing with the people around him.  He begins to believe in himself and the world around him.  He asks that his friend(s) "send a prayer to ones up above/All the hate you've heard has turned your spirit into a dove."  The poet realizes how much hate and anger he has kept inside of him all of these years and asks for prayers from his friend(s).  On his journey, he learns to embrace his pain because that pain never goes away.  It stays with you forever.  Everything we've ever done is still written on our hearts.  Some of our pain is private and some of it is not.  But we need to live this pain.  It's only when we can work through the pain and get past it that we begin to live our life.  It's only with this realization that we can embrace Christ into our lives.  He was Crucified for our sins and for our pain.  He took away our sins and made it possible for us to have eternal life.  Death is no longer a finality.  "He destroyed Death by Death." (Hymn of the Resurrection).  It can no longer hurt us.  Eternal life is the new reality and sacrifice is a part of our journey.  "Death where is thy sting?" (Paschal Homily of St. John Chrystostom).  .  His Homily is a fiery declaration of God's power and His love for His creation. 
The poet grows and discovers that all of life is difficulty—a constant baptism by fire.  Without experiencing this baptism by fire, we merely exist. We have no hope and no future.  We live as a "dead" person.  Belief in the Holy Spirit is the future.  Embracing the Holy Spirit in one's heart is the only way to live.  The Holy Spirit is our Guide whether the path is smooth or rough.
 
You're the face of the future
 
Without this Grace from God, the future is meaningless if we don't let God into our hearts.  The all consuming Love that God has for us is unfathomable.  We can never see His Face but we can feel His presence in us.  However, through His Son, Jesus Christ, we get an inkling of that fiery Love.  Jesus Christ's mission was to save us from our earthly sins and selfishness.  In a logical way, His Way was a new way of thinking—a threat to the establishment at the time.  Christ looked upon women, the unclean, and disenfranchised as humans.  He taught us that all sins carry weight and that not to worry because He would take those away from us as long as we have faith in Him.  His coming gave us a second chance at life.  He showed us the future by Rising after three days in the tomb.  The future is ours and we need to embrace it through Him. 
As beings created in the image of God, all we need is to look at ourselves in the mirror and look at our neighbors.  We are all one in God.  He created us and every face that we see is the "face of the future."  If we harm another, we are doing harm to ourselves.  Christ's teachings in our fallen world showed us how we need to treat others.  We're all alike yet different.  We need each other if we're to find God's Grace by the "fire and the flames" and as images of God, be the "face of the future."
 
Lessons Learned
 
In the song, Believer, we find that pain is always going to be with us.  But you know what?  Jesus Christ is always with us.  Jesus Christ is our rock.  He is unchanging and forever Loving.  He eases our burdens as long as we believe in Him.  We are the ones who are constantly in flux.  We change for better or for good but "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."  (Hebrews 13:8)