Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”

Exodus 3:3 CSB

I just put some bread in the oven. In about 50 minutes I will take out a piping hot sourdough loaf, totally transformed from the cold dough I just handled. The heat will change it drastically. And once it cools enough to slice and eat, my body’s digestive processes will change it even further, beyond recognition. And it will change me, giving me energy for this morning’s tasks.

I know it’s obvious, flamingly obvious, but I’m seeing the beauty of the burning bush afresh today. When Jesus referenced the words of God to Moses from the flames, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” He did it to prove the resurrection of the dead. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not dead and gone. No! They are alive and well. And so is their God. 

That day on the far side of the wilderness, God told Moses, “I AM. I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” That bush, burning away, but strangely not burning away is a spectacular illustration of a present-tense God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It wasn’t just some divine parlour trick to get Moses’ attention. It meant something.

In our understanding and experience, heat and fire effect change. But God is beyond any such effects. He created space and time and all the parameters required for change in the first place. As Creator, He is the unmoved mover, the unchanged changer. And in this changeable world, in this changeable body, in my changeable mind, I am so thankful I can step into the warmth of His eternally burning presence, barefoot before Him this morning.