Imagine being in a very dark room with no windows and no light. Suddenly someone enters the room with a small candle in their hand. Where does your eyes go to? The light of the candle. Now look around you. Everywhere you look there is evil, lawlessness, murderers, perverts and the list goes on and on. The world is dark, darker than it has ever been. No hope. Fear is everywhere and fear brings it’s friend torment. Just then, God sends you into that job, that neighborhood, that city. How much oil is in your lamp? Will it continue to burn bright until Jesus returns?

We used kerosene lanterns in Haiti when I lived there because the village we lived in had no electricity. The one thing I remember most is that the globes had to be cleaned and the wicks trimmed. Depending on how much you used them, they also had to be filled often. If the globes got smokey, it drastically reduced the amount of light that the lamp gave out. Many people couldn’t afford the fuel, so they used cheap candles. The problem with candles is that in the slightest breeze, it would blow out the light and you were constantly having to light them again.

What sort of light are you? Are you a candle that when the slightest breeze comes, your light goes out or are you a lamp full of oil, clean and ready to shine? Matthew 5:14-16 says, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Father, I want to be a useful light to my world. I want to show people to the God that is in me, the one who gives me hope, helps me to love, shows mercy and grace to those around me. I want to be filled with the oil of your Spirit that never runs dry. I want my heart to be clean and pure so that it shows forth the light of your love. Father, if we are the only hope for this world, let us do what you designed us to do, show light. Bright shining beacons for those who are cast away by the storms of life. In Jesus Name. Amen