Seasoned with Fire

For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  (Mark 9:49)

Remember those old, cast-iron skillets your Mom used to cook with? We had one when I was growing up and my Mom cooked everything in that pan. You didn’t see them for quite a while, but they seem to be making somewhat of a comeback. I bought one not long ago, but it had to be “seasoned” before I could cook in it. Had I tried to use it before being “seasoned,” anything from eggs to chicken would have just been a sticky mess. 

You see, when you first buy a skillet, it’s pretty much raw iron and has to be “seasoned.” The seasoning process goes like this: First, liberally rub the pan with oil. Then place it on the stove over very high heat. Wipe the pan with a paper towel when it cools and repeat. After you have repeated that process several times, the skillet becomes “seasoned.” And you have yourself a very valuable piece of cookware!

Cast iron skillets produce great culinary results when cooking on high heat, unlike Teflon-coated pans which are meant to used at lower temperatures. And there are just some foods that taste better when cooked on high. Like pancakes! You heat the pan so that a droplet of water sizzles on the surface. Then you add the oil – just enough to coat the pan. Next comes the pancake batter... watch the edges bubble as you pour it in the pan. A few moments later, you flip your pancake. Ah…golden brown perfection! You just can’t do that in a Teflon skillet. (In my humble opinion anyway!)

When I ponder my life and my walk with God, I see there have been times when I have needed to be “seasoned with fire.” Trials, temptations, difficult circumstances, have been the “fire” God used to “season” me so that I can be a vessel fit for His use in the Kingdom. 

When I have been “seasoned,” things don’t stick to me like they used to. Offenses, the devil’s lies, old beliefs and wrong ways of thinking slide off more quickly. I don’t have to hang onto them, which makes me a cleaner, purer vessel for Him to flow through. 

So if you are in the midst of the fire of His “seasoning,” remember that the day is coming when you will “taste and see that the Lord is good.” Not only will your life be enriched, but He will have a “seasoned” vessel through whom He can feed those hungering for the food only He can provide…and it’s a lot better than pancakes!