blue and gold

After giving in to peer pressure from Aggie to go to the Beat 'SC rally and bonfire, I went and experienced the masses of blue and gold enthusiasts. Hundreds of UCLA students standing around a large pile anticipating the lighting of the bonfire. And then it's lit: this fire. and we cheer. It goes higher and higher, and sparks start to fly. We cheer and do some more 8 claps as the band plays. My face is burning from the heat and the sparks land on my jacket. I'm not really sure why this is fun, but for some reason to thousands of students it is.

And as I stood there, I thought about the intrinsic human longing for community and how having a similar passion for the victory of UCLA and the defeat of USC brings out a community of students. I guess this is where community lies: having a common passion for something. I don't know most of the students here, but for this one moment of time, every face holds some familiarity.

And as I thought about this fire burning and the excitement for the fire to burn, I initially thought about the many pagan rituals which include fire.

And then I thought about when Elijah asked God to light his altar from heaven and how fire from heaven came down on the altar and consumed the water and the altar. And I thought about that verse in Hebrews 12 about how "God is a consuming fire." So then I thought about how cool it would be for this many students to come together to worship God, the true consuming fire. To have this same passion, this same excitement to worship a mighty and powerful God. And this is where true community lies - in worship of a holy and magnificent God.

(By the way, I do in fact love UCLA, even if I'm not quite as enthusiastic about sporting events or campus traditions)