John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
When I was growing up I remember my parents and my grandparents respectively had an oil hurricane lamp that sat on table in the living room. Surprisingly neither my brother or I ever broke them and for a long time they sat ready, filled with oil and waiting. Every once in a while someone would take the top off the lamp and feel the wick to make sure it was wet with oil. They would wipe the dust off the glass lamp shade and put it back ready for the emergeny. That lamp sat waiting for tht power outage to come and wasn't burned often. I remember once while my father was stationed in Korea that the power went out when we lived in Shirley Massachusetts. If recall it had something to do with a huge generator failure somewhere upstate. The whole neighborhood was black and because it was mostly military families everyone went around to check on each other. My mother for the first time took the top off that lamp and lit it. She left it burning for a long time and eventually several hours later, the wick began to smoke with an awful odor and eventually went out. My mother, went to the closet got a bottle of oil and filled the lamp back up. She waited until the wick was again soaked and she lit it back up so we could see in the house. She did that several times over the next few nights while the power was out. On a side note, we listened to a little transistor radio to a local am station that kept us informed of what was going on.
As I read this passage from John 1:5, I realize something. The light of Christ that shines in His Believers is like the wick of that lamp. In order for the light to effectively keep the darkness of this world at bay, we must be soaked in the oil that is the Holy Spirit. If we let that oil burn out and don't keep filling ourselves back up with His grace, mercy and love, we can't be the light that shines in the darkness. We eventually, burn out and go dark leaving our family, friends and neighbors in the darkness. The key to the light isn't us but Christ who works through us. What keeps the wick of your lamp ready to shine? Is it filled with the Holy Spirit and do you keep it filled so it doesn't burn out?
Much love,
Preach
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