The Inextinguishable Flame
Is it possible for a flame to stay lit under water? Yes it is. Let me explain.
The Olympic Games officially begin when the olympic torch lights the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony. The torch is lit in Ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the games, and carried all the way to the host city.
Over the years, it has been transported by a relay consisting of many runners, horses, boats, bicycles, airplanes and motorcycles – and travels thousands of miles (while staying continuously lit) across hundreds of cities before arriving at its destination – which is usually the stadium where the host city is holding the opening ceremony. This has been an Olympic tradition since the 1928 Amsterdam Games.
Fire Underwater
The Olympic torch relay for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney did something that had never been done before. They carried the torch underwater. As it was on its way from Olympia to Sydney, it was taken to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef where it was taken underwater at a popular diving spot for nearly three minutes. Yes, you read that correctly…underwater.
How is that possible? A special underwater flare was created by a group of chemists and engineers to burn successfully under water. The flare’s chemical composition, pressed into a steel tube, produces sufficient oxygen and nitrogen to maintain a very hot flame. The flare burns so fiercely at more than 2,000 degrees Celsius that this creates enough pressure to keep the water from entering the tube. Its intensity is produced by a mix of oxygen-generating chemicals as well as the combustible element magnesium in a finely powdered form.
The company’s managing director Charles Tegner said designing the torch was a challenge. It wasn’t easy to produce a flare to burn underwater at such a depth. His exact words were, “Such flares don’t normally exist.”
Indeed they don’t.
But according to Solomon, the wise king of Israel, there is a fire that burns continuously under water, and for much longer than three minutes. Here’s what he said:
It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.
Song of Solomon 8:6-7
That is the metaphor Solomon uses when describing the fire that is present within a marriage between one man and one woman. It is a flame so hot, so powerful, that many waters (flood waters) cannot put it out. When its under water, it doesn’t got out. It’s inextinguishable.
It’s inextinguishable because the fire Solomon is speaking of is the fire of God, which is an all-consuming, everlasting, self-sustaining fire. It’s more than a flame. It’s a mighty flame. Of all the ways God’s presence is described in the Bible, Solomon (while under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as he wrote) describes God’s presence within a marriage as a fire – a fire that cannot be overcome by external elements.
Why it matters
It’s a nice concept, but what does it mean for you and me when our marriages are flooded with busyness, unforgiveness, unmet expectations, betrayal, unresolved conflict, the pressures of life, etc.? What does it mean when it feels like our marriage is being swept away by the overpowering undercurrent of a deep, fast-moving river?
Amongst many other things (which I look forward to writing about in the coming weeks), it means one thing for sure. The fire of your love for your spouse can be reignited, even when you’re flooded. If the two of you will turn to Him, the inextinguishable fire of God in your marriage can reignite your love for one another.
In other words, if you get close enough to God, you’ll catch fire once again.