The flames grew higher wider
They lashed out of the frame they were in
They came for the surrounding material
Anything everything they could consume
They would consume
The men in thick suits could not get close
The fire was too hot too strong
There was nothing to do but stand back
And do what could be done from a distance
Time went by
The pastor sat on the ground and wept
The heat pressed down on him
But it didn’t matter
It was all over
His church
His beloved precious church
Was gone
After the storm in the quiet
The men in thick suits reached down
And there they were
Bibles
Covers still gripping its sacred insides close
Thin paper waving in the wind
Waving to God
The men in thick suits looked up
And there it stood
The Cross of Jesus
Wooden
Normally food for the fire
But not this time
Not for this fire
The Holy Spirit is Fire
Among so many other things
Did God’s fire form a barrier
To Earth’s destructive fire
Whatever it was
It was impossible