There's a well known story about a group of early pioneers who were making their way across the central United States to a distant place that had been opened up for homesteads. They traveled in covered wagons drawn by oxen, and progress was painfully slow. One day they were horrified to see a long line of smoke to the West, stretching for miles across the prairie, and soon it was apparent that the dried grass was burning fiercely and racing toward them. They had crossed a river the day before, but it would be impossible to go back all the way to the river before the flames would be upon him. One man seemed to have understanding as to what could be done. He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them. Then when that area of grass was burned away, the whole company rolled back upon it. As the flames roared toward them from the West, a little girl cried out in terror," are you sure we shall not be all burned up?" The leader replied," my child, the flames cannot reach us here, for we are standing where the fire has been!”
What a picture of the believer who is safe in Christ and faith in him! We are standing where the fire has already been. When Jesus died on the cross, he bore the full brunt of the burning wrath of God against human sin. He became sin for us and paid the price for our full pardon from sin. He took the fire of God's judgment for us so that if we stand in him by faith, we have nothing to fear. The price for our sins has been paid, and we are saved in him, our refuge.
As an old poem says,
On Him Almighty vengeance fell,
That must have sunk the world to hell;
He bore it for a chosen race,
And thus became their hiding place.
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