1. SOME HAVE SHORT FUSES.
2. SOME WHISTLE WHILE THEY WORK.
3. SOME FIZZLE OUT BEFORE THEY FINISH THEIR WORK.
And now, let's continue with four more points of comparison:
4. SOME ARE USEFUL IN LIGHTING OTHERS.
Take sparklers, for instance. If you get a sparkler going, you can then use it to light others before it is consumed. That should be the way it is with our lives. We should motivate and inspire one another to service in God's kingdom before our time expires. II Corinthians 9:2 reads - "For I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority." Also, Hebrews 10:24,25 - "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." Are you a light of encouragement to others?
5. SOME JOIN WITH OTHERS TO DO MORE.
That's what impressive about the grand finale at most firework shows. Finales are often just a bunch of ordinary fireworks shot off very quickly together. Don't misunderstand, the individual components are nice, but when multiple fireworks are used together very quickly, the result is awesome! Strong churches are like this; they're just a bunch of ordinary Christians who are working together efficiently (as a body should). The results can be amazing! Consider these Scriptures on working together to accomplish more - "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase...for we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building" (I Cor. 3:6,9). Nehemiah 4:6 - "So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work." Christians, do we have a mind to work? And are we willing to work together?
6. SOME MAKE YOU LOOK UP.
Only the inexpensive fireworks are on the ground; the really good ones make you look up since they are in the sky radiating light for all to see! The same is true with Christians. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 - "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." To glorify God in heaven is to "look up," so to speak. Also, I Peter 2:9,11 - "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light...abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul." If we are living righteously for God, we will avoid sin and keep our influence pure as we walk in God's light. This will enable us to be the kind of people who help make others "look up" and praise God.
7. ALL BURN OUT QUICKLY.
I realize that "quickly" is a relative term, but I've yet to see a single firework that lasts more than a minute from start to finish. Perhaps I'm simply unaware of others with a longer lifespan, but even if such exist they still all burn out quickly. They produce bright light and a loud sound, and then they burn out and become dark and silent. They have their moment of life, so to speak, and then their purpose on Earth is finished. So it is with all human beings. Our time here is comparatively very short. We have an opportunity to shine our lights for God and make some "noise" for the greater good of His kingdom, but then we will be extinguished from this life (and move on to the next one). Hebrews 9:27 reads - "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." Are you ready for Judgment Day, friends? Even if you last more than 100 years, it's a short span of time when compared with eternity! Live life for God now in accordance with the Scriptures; you won't regret it!