Fire: a curse and a blessing
I wrote about fire before, but the annual wildfires in the western provinces and states are impossible to ignore.
They not only spoil nature, threaten communities, and destroy infrastructure but their smoke spread widely, causing haze and breathing problems.
Instead of fun in the sun, summer often brings craze in the haze. Instead of enjoying the outdoors, we have to survive indoors.
The natural and man-made causes of wildfires can be diminished. Fighting climate change may decrease summer temperatures, flammable material in forested areas, and lightning strikes.
Concerted efforts to increase knowledge of and facilities for safe camping should be launched in the warmer months. Preventative burning should be done with caution, on small scale, with fire-fighting equipment, and with consideration of weather forecasts.
Since prehistoric times, fire also has had benefits for humanity, such as cooking, heating, propulsion, electricity, and control of dry vegetation. Steam-engines propelled trains and ships for about
150 years before they were replaced by diesel-electric ones.
Gasoline engines make our vehicles move since 1886 when Karl Benz drove the first automobile. Without fire in the engine we cannot drive anywhere.
Apart from wind, sun, and water systems, most electricity is produced by fire. Burning wood or fossil fuels releases lots of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing climate change. Changing to electric vehicles without changing the fuel of power plants, will not solve the pollution problem.
Hydrogen is the best clean fuel available, producing only water when it is ignited. It is made from water and returns to water – a perfect recyclable fuel. At the moment, it is still expensive to produce and to store in large quantities.
God was the first to make fire. All stars are suns, burning with hydrogen – a universe full of them. When Noah burned animal flesh on an altar to thank God for his provision during the great flood, God liked the aroma, and permitted humans to eat grilled meat without blood (Gen. 8:20 – 9:4).
Many of the sacrifices God instituted through Moses involved burning or cooking. When Solomon’s temple was inaugurated, God himself ignited the fire on the burnt-offering altar (2 Chron. 7:1).
When the prophet Elijah had the showdown with the Baal priests on Mount Carmel, he had two altars built, one for Baal and one for Yahweh. The Baal priests could not pray down fire for heaven, but Elijah did (1 Kings 18).
On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came onto 120 believers in the form of flames. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was among them. God’s fire inspired them to testify boldly that Jesus was the Saviour. He could save people from the pool of fire prepared for Satan and his helpers (Rev. 19 and 20).
Jacob Van Zyl of Lethbridge is a retired counsellor and the author of several faith-based books.