Fueled up Lamps

Many analogies are used to describe the Christian life, but one in the Bible tells us to keep our lamps burning. Great analogy given by Jesus to what our preparedness should be, especially the importance of never letting our lamps run out of fuel..

Well, these days few of us still oil lamps as they did in Jesus' day. We are more accustomed to coming home in the evenings and flicking on a light switch to get instant light. Even still we have artificial light all around us, from streetlights and car headlights. So this analogy is somewhat lost on modern man.

Imagine if you would, living in those days. No 'maglight' in our pockets, no cell phones with flashlights, no car headlights showing the way. Coming home in the dark you would need to know exactly where your lamp's located (for you have no light to find it), then make sure it's filled with fuel and the probably with the spark of a flint light it up. Then carefully adjusting the trim just right so you're not burning too much of the wick or creating too much soot and smoke. Too large a flame would cause damage to the lamp, whereas a too small flame failed create enough light.

Caring for the lamp was so important in it's day. A lamp not well cared for became unclean and unreliable. So is there something in the context of Jesus' analogy we should keep in mind to keep our lamps burning?

Yes, fuel is a key element, without which the lamp cannot function at all. Well, if not the lamp, what do we fuel in this modern age? We fuel our cars with a 5 minute procedure at the petrol station. We fuel our houses, without moving a finger since there are gas lines directly fueling our home heating furnaces. As mentioned earlier, we no longer fuel our lamps with more than electricity available at the flick of a switch..

So in the context of the day, what did it mean to fuel a lamp? First of all one needed to acquire the oil, be it by buying or making it as a byproduct of agricultural activity. A hundred years ago most needed to make hay as 'fuel' for their horses, chop wood for heating their homes. How many of us really have any inkling of what all this entails? All we know is how to pump gasoline into our cars and adjust the home thermostat, but that's about it.

How do we approach 'fueling our lamps' spiritually? Do will get our weekly 'fill-up' at church on sundays, and then adjust our spiritual temperature listening to a song or two during the week? Or do we make all the preparations needed to fuel our own lamps. Do we search for and pay for the fuel, with our time and effort? Do we work on polishing and tuning our lamp to give greater light?

I think there's much more to Jesus' analogy than meets the modern man's eye. It's not just a matter of flicking a switch to turn on the light. There's significant work and preparation involved. Through our own studying of the scriptures and prayer we acquire deep fuel reserves. Are we prepared to make the investment to acquire the oil needed, and tune-up our lamps so they can always shine bright?