Carrying the Fire

In Cormac McCarthys book The Road (and to a much lesser extent in No Country for Old men) the characters frequently reassure themselves that they are "carrying the fire." What does that mean? In the context of The Road, it means carrying all the good traits of humanity, like love, courage, hope, when the rest of the world has almost literally gone to hell. It is this "fire" that keeps them alive and is something that the characters have to constantly say to each other. This is obviously something everyone should try to do. However, to a person of Christian faith, it means something different. Well, perhaps not so much different in what it means, but in exactly what the fire is is what's different.

The fire a believer is supposed to be carrying is not the qualities of a person (though it certainly isn't bad to carry these qualities). It is the qualities of the the Author of our faith. That is the fire that a believer is supposed to carry. The same qualities in name (love, courage, hope, etc) but instead of simply carrying your own of these qualities, carry those of the Author and Finisher of Our Faith.