Jumping Over Fire

By homer trecartin

Five-year-old Kamran* screamed as he tripped and fell into the fire. 

It had all started out as lots of fun. It was a special holiday in Iran, a country in the Middle East, and a day the children always looked forward to. As evening approached, the villagers would gather in an open area and light little fires. The adults would stand around and talk as the fires made funny shadows on their faces and helped to warm up the cold evening air. The kids would play games and run here and there between the fires. Almost always one of the bigger kids would start showing off and jump over one of the fires. Soon others were doing it too. Even the little ones would run and jump over the smaller fires. No one thought anything about it. It was just part of the fun of the night.

But that night, while playing, one of the kids spilled kerosene on Kamran. If the adults had seen it, they would have known how dangerous it was and stopped him until he changed clothes. But the little kids didn’t think about it and kept running and jumping. Then, unexpectedly, Kamran tripped and fell into one of the fires. With a whoosh the roaring flames surrounded him as they began to burn the kerosene.

Instantly there was a man beside him in the fire. The man picked him up gently and covered Kamran’s head and face with his hands. Then he said, “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you.” Together they ran out of the fire.

Suddenly adults were all around Kamran. They were shouting and slapping at the fire. Someone pushed him to the ground, and they began rolling him over and over with their feet. They tried to extinguish the fire, but the kerosene kept relighting. Finally the fire was out. 

The adults were amazed when they helped Kamran to his feet and began to examine him. His clothes were quite badly burned, but he didn’t have a single burn on his body except a small one under his arm. His hair and eyebrows weren’t even singed. How could it be?

“Where is the man who protected me?” Kamran asked.

The adults looked puzzled. “What do you mean?” they asked.

“The man,” Kamran said again, “the man who was in the fire with me, who helped me out and said everything would be OK. Where did he go?”

“Kamran,” one of the adults said, “there was no man with you in the fire.” All the others were nodding.

“But there was,” Kamran said. “He picked me up and covered my face and head with his hands and helped me out of the fire.”

The party broke up then, and everyone put out the fires and went home. They couldn’t understand what had kept Kamran safe, but they were sure there hadn’t been any man in the fire with him.

Ten days later some friends invited Kamran’s family to come to a secret showing of The Jesus Film. His family were Muslims, but they were interested in knowing more about Jesus, so they went. Kamran sat on the floor and watched with interest. Suddenly he jumped up and shouted, “Daddy, Daddy, that’s the man! That’s the man who was in the fire with me. I saw him, Daddy, and he’s the same man. Daddy, Jesus was the one in the fire with me!”

Little by little, Kamran’s family came to know Jesus and gave their hearts to Him. After some time Kamran’s father began to lead a small group of Christians, which was illegal in their country. He was arrested several times, threatened, and beaten over and over. Finally a friendly guard told him he must leave the country immediately. Kamran and his mother and brother fled one direction and Daddy fled another. They weren’t sure if they would ever see each other again. Finally, after several weeks, they reunited in a nearby country. 

One day they met some Seventh-day Adventists. They began to share and study together, and eventually Kamran and his family became Seventh-day Adventists. Today they are working to help others know about Jesus.

Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus loves children enough to come and help them when they are in trouble—even when they don’t know about Him yet? Remember that you can call on Jesus for help anytime. He wants to be your friend.

*Not his real name. Remember to always be careful around fire.

Homer Trecartin is a retired pastor, teacher, administrator, and missionary.