REPENT: THE FIRE REVEALED WHAT WE LOVED MOST___ On Exposure, Conscience, and Returning to What Endures

 REPENT: THE FIRE REVEALED WHAT WE LOVED MOST___

On Exposure, Conscience, and Returning to What Endures

When the fire came,

it did not argue.

It did not negotiate.

It simply revealed.

What we built—burned.

What we trusted—collapsed.

What we thought would remain—did not.

And in that moment,

the city was stripped of its illusions.

The flames did not create truth—

they uncovered it.

They showed what we had invested our hearts in.

They exposed what we protected most.

They revealed what we could not bear to lose.

And now the question stands before us:

What do we love?

For what we love

is what we build.

And what we build

is what will one day be tested.

If we love what fades,

we will fall with it.

If we love what excludes,

we will be hardened by it.

If we love only ourselves,

we will be left alone in the end.

But if we love what endures—

if we love mercy,

if we love our neighbor,

if we love what cannot be consumed—

then even when the fire comes,

something will remain.

Repentance is not fear of destruction.

It is the courage to see clearly

what has already been revealed.

It is the turning of the heart

from what cannot last

to what must.

The fire has already spoken.

History has already testified.

The only question left is this:

Will we continue to love what burns—

or will we return

to what remains? 

Pastor Steven G. Lee 

St. GMC Corps

April 17, 2026