In July 2011, a fire raged through a forest on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain. The fire lasted five days and consumed about 50,000 acres of forest. Surprisingly, 946 cypress trees, which were in that part of the forest, remained intact, while the gorse, oak and other kinds of trees were completely consumed by the flames.

This attracted the attention of botanists, since the cypress trees were exposed to the same conditions as the other trees: a year of low rainfall, temperatures above 85° F, low humidity and winds at 30 mph. After this incident, cypress is being studied as an ally to fight fire. They would act as barriers against fire, to block and protect forests from fires.

In the Bible, God compares Himself with a green cypress (Hosea 14.8), and also refers to His people as chosen cypress trees (Isaiah 37.24). Both the Father and His children are the focus of this analogy for a very strong reason. And, after reading about what happened to the cypress trees in Valencia, we can understand why.

Both, the children of God and the children of the devil are exposed to the same conditions: both are human, subject to mistakes, suffer temptations, receive illicit proposals, face problems and have limitations. But when the flames of sin come, only the chosen cypress trees remain intact. Meanwhile, the gorse and oak trees are completely consumed. After all, who can resist the destructive power of these flames, but those who have within them a greater Power? Only the children of the Most High can resist sin, because they have the same DNA as their Father who is The Green Cypress.

And the function of the chosen cypress trees does not stop there. They are not formed just to protect themselves, but to protect the entire forest, forming other cypress trees. There are many gorse and oak trees that need to become cypress trees, because they are not strong enough to withstand the flames of sin. They represent the souls that are still far from God and need the cypress trees to learn about His Word. Then, they may also be cypress trees, and develop the same resistance, like a cycle, to protect themselves, other trees and entire forests from large fires. Knowing the Word of God is what gives someone the ability to protect themselves against the destructive power of sin, and causes others to protect themselves as well.

What happens in the environment where the cypress trees are does not matter. It can be cold or hot, the humidity may be low or high, the winds can blow strong or not blow at all, the forest can be well preserved or up in flames. Cypress trees remain the same, because they resist all external influences. Nothing that happens on their outside affects their inside because what is inside is stronger than what is on the outside.

The question that remains is: are you a cypress tree – someone who resists the flames of sin and forms other cypress trees? Or are you a gorse tree, an oak tree – which is easily destroyed by the fire that spreads in this world?