Guest Author - Michelle Taylor
This is the one element that is never taken for granted.
In fact, the control of fire is considered the dawning of modern man. In Greek mythology, fire was so precious that the gods did not want man to have it. Zeus in particular was afraid that if man had the power of fire that he would one day rise up against the gods. Prometheus went against Zeus, however and stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. He was punished severely for his actions; chained to a rock while an eagle ate his liver everyday – only to have it grow back and start the process all over again.
Historically, fire was the choice for burial for most warriors. It was believed to carry the soul of the soldier to his god on the flames and the ashes. On a more practical note, burning the bodies helped prevent the spread of disease during war when there was not as much time to dig deep graves.
Just like water, fire is cleansing or rather purifying.
In the Christian Bible it says in 1 Peter 1:7 “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ”
Gold, like silver, iron, and many other metals are purified using fire. The metals are melted down using extreme heat, then the impurities are separated out and you are left with the pure metal. So faith is likened to gold in its preciousness and in being tested by fire.
Many cultures take the testing of fire literally. The most common practice is firewalking, or walking across heated coals. This can be used as a test of a person’s worthiness or as a ritual of cleansing before worship. It is still active in the Hindu religion, parts of Hawaii, and many Native American Indian tribes.
Consider the way surgical instruments are sterilized. Typically a machine called an “Autoclave” is used. This machine uses high pressure steam at a temperature of at least 121°. So basically, water and fire together. In the old days (think civil war) it was common to pour alcohol over a surgical instrument and then set fire to it. Although that is a very elementary method – it is effective at killing germs.
Then of course we cannot overlook the destructive power that fire wields.
From the pain a simple house fire can cause to one family to the devastation that we have witnessed in the past years in California and Oklahoma due to wildfires and forest fires. Oftentimes these huge fires that take months and months to put out find a small cause such as a tossed cigarette or someone burning leaves in their yard that gets caught up by the wind. Fire is an element that man just thinks he has control of.
Yet without fire where would we be? We need heat to keep us from freezing in the winter. We need fire to cook our food. We need fire to keep us safe from beasties big and small (very, very small).
In other words – fire is an element that is to be treated with the greatest of respect, and should never be considered “tame”.
