Candle wicks are short. If they are not surrounded by wax, they burn up in a matter of seconds. However, when wax surrounds them, they can serve the purpose for which they were designed, and produce hours and hours of light.
People sometimes think that candles don’t give off much light, but that is because we often burn them in a room where a fair amount of light already exists. Yet, if you eliminate all the other light in the room, it is quite amazing how much they illuminate.
So, for a candle to be most effective, it must be surrounded by wax and illuminate the darkness.
Jesus said of his followers:
14 “You are the light of the world.(R) A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.(S) 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others,(T) that they may see your good deeds(U) and glorify(V) your Father in heaven.
We have a purpose like the candle, and yet certain conditions must exist for our light to shine. First, we must be blessed with time. Our lives are brief, and could end quite suddenly. On any day, we could become like the wick without wax, and just like that, we are gone. Our life, our number of days, are in God’s hands, so it is good to start each day giving thanks to God that we have another day to glorify Him.
Second, we must reflect the light God has placed in us. It is possible to be saved, and to hide the light of Christ from the rest of the world. We can put the light that has been given to us by God under the proverbial “bowl”, and subsequently, no one around us considers anymore about God, or glorifies Him. God calls us to shine before everyone. This happens when we live as Christ would have us live. There is nothing that lights up the world like a believer who follows after Christ. How bright things become when service, sacrifice, and Christ-like love permeate a believer’s life. When we live this way in the name of Christ, He is glorified.
This is the day the Lord has made. Perhaps God will let your wick burn for many more days. There is plenty of darkness in the world. You have an opportunity to shine bright. Will you? Will I? It would be so much easier (and more comfortable) to just hide the light God has given to us.
Let’s be a vessel useful to the Lord.
20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use.(AG) 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.(AH)- 2 Timothy 2:20-21
For Jesus,
Rob