It was October 8, 1871. The city of Chicago, Illinois, had not seen much rain in the past three months. It had gotten only one inch since July 4. The city was as dry as a pile of kindling. No one is sure how, but on that fateful day in October a huge fire started. One story says it started in the barn of a lady named Mrs. O’Leary. She had gone to her barn that evening to milk her cow. The cow perhaps kicked the lantern over that she had been holding and the straw caught fire, then the barn, and finally the fire jumped to the shed next to the barn. Because of such dry conditions on top of a strong wind that was blowing that night (Chicago is known as “The Windy City”), the fire spread very rapidly. Most of the houses and buildings at that time in Chicago were made of wood, as well as the sidewalks and roads, so there was good fuel for the fire, to be sure.
Have you ever seen a picture of horse-drawn fire engines? They look quite a bit different than the fire engines we have today, don’t they? At this time they had only 17 of these in Chicago and that was nowhere near enough to fight such a big fire. The wind was so strong that the fire even jumped over the Chicago River two times. Little pieces of burning wood and debris were caught by the wind and carried to tar roofs and other objects, causing the fire to spread farther and farther. Then the pipes that carried the water into the city went dry. People could only run for safety as the city almost all went up in flames.
Thankfully, it started to rain the next evening. There were probably many people praying and asking God to send the rain, don’t you think? Also, the fire had started to slow down a little before the rain began.
In the end they found that the fire had ruined an area over three miles long and about ¾ mile wide. It destroyed many roads, sidewalks, lampposts and buildings. Many people were left homeless and it is thought that as many as three hundred people died because of the fire.
I am sure there were many thankful people who at least still had each other after the fire, but many had lost loved ones, as well as all they owned.
Children, this story makes me think of another terrible fire that is ahead for all who refuse to bow their knees and hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a very sad verse found in the book of Revelation that tells us: “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:1515And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)). Thankfully, this won’t be where everyone goes, because the Bible tells us in John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) that God loved the world so much, that He gave His only Son to die for us, so that whoever believes on Him will not have to go into that awful fire, but instead will have everlasting life. Yes, God has provided a very simple way so that you can be forgiven of all your sins and be ready to go to heaven when you die. It is by simply receiving God’s wonderful gift of His Son, believing that the Lord Jesus died for you. Oh children! Come to the Lord Jesus right NOW before it is forever too late! He loves you very much and He is waiting for you to come.
Messages of God’s Love 11/22/2020