Ring of Fire

Love, is a burning thing

And it makes a fiery ring

Bound by wild desires,

I fell into a ring of fire

Johnny Cash was a guy who was consumed by his passions.  Whether it was his craving for drugs and alcohol, or his passion for the lovely and vivacious June Carter, Johnny Cash was raging out of control.  He had emotional issues from an unloving, distant father.  He also had an overdeveloped guilt complex from his older brother’s death.  His life and promising career were going up in flames while he battled depression and suicidal thoughts. 

Cash was able to survive addiction, depression, and divorce because of a small flicker of God that his mother had placed in him at an early age.    As a youngster, she sang hymns with him and prayed with him.  She gave him security and support through unconditional love.  Johnny’s mother installed a pilot light of hope that would always burn inside him.  Occasionally it needed to be re-lit, but it remained there underneath all his personal struggles. 

Johnny Cash smoldered with his wild desires.  Then, a miracle happened!  Through the gentle council of Billy Graham, Johnny became a fully devoted follower of Christ.  God began to refine and shape him into a new person, with a new character.   Johnny began to heal from his addictions and the pain of depression.  His life now had new meaning and direction.   

Eventually he married June Carter, who was already a Christian.  They began to sing together and speak at Billy Graham Crusades, TV shows, prisons, and even nursing homes.  Anyplace they could find to minister to others and offer them a little bit of hope. 

Johnny Cash first sang the words of this song to his wife, June Carter Cash, the love of his life.  But he also acknowledged that he was singing them intimately to God as well.  They come from his signature song, I Walk the Line. 

You’ve got a way to keep me on your side

You give me cause for love that I can’t hide

For you I’d even try to turn the tide

Because you’re mine, I walk the line

The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that “anyone who accepts Christ becomes a new creation.  The old person goes away.  A new person arrives.”  We are not reformed, reeducated, or rehabilitated.  We are re-created.  In God’s eyes we have a totally fresh start at life. 

My prayer this week is for us all to walk the line of unconditional love and offer the gift of fresh starts to people within our own personal relationships.

-Pastor Mike Howard