It spreads quickly out of control. But there is one thing we think fire is that it is not. Fire is not permanent. It is not permanent in the life of our forests, and it is not permanent in our spiritual lives, either. Some of our Greek ancestors knew this, as they contemplated the legend of the Phoenix, that great mythological bird which rises to greatness out of ashes.
Fire is but the beginning of the Phoenix's glory.
Jesus, too, probably knew that fire is not permanent. Fire does not kill forever. Rather, fire sets the occasion for something new. Jesus' baptism turns out to be nothing less than his own crucifixion and death. It is the Jesus who rises from that crucifixion, who rises from that baptism, who truly lives forever.