The Lamp

           "Let your lamp so shine before men, that they
        may see your good works and glorify your Father
                       in heaven" Matthew 5:16

This photo is hauntingly beautiful to me.  I took the picture through the window of the Maltese Cross Cabin, built in 1884, in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, North Dakota.  The window looking out at beautiful yellow autumn leaves is dirty giving a Matisse-like quality to the view.  The old oil lamp, however, is in sharp focus.  Hmmm.... do I detect a spiritual analogy here?

We live in a society whose view of the world seems to become dirtier every day.  What was once right has become wrong and what was once wrong has become right (even though God's Word on these things has not changed).  This topsy-turvy world is changing at a rapid pace and it often appears that Satan is making points against Christians at a rapid pace.  We shouldn't be surprised.  The Bible tells us these things will happen and it also tells us what our response should be.  Here's what Jesus said on the subject:

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven...You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden...Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" Matthew 5:11-16.

The oil lamp in this photo stands as a reminder of several things: 

       --- that we should keep our lamps filled with oil by being fed by the Word of God and staying close to our Father through prayer and praise
       --- that we should stand up for what we believe, even it means standing beside that dirty window of the world in order to show forth God's glory
       --- that we should stand in sharp contrast to the dark and dirt that surrounds us; live a life above reproach in the power of God and for His glory.

God has instructed Christians to be lights.  If each of us will keep our wicks trimmed and our lights shining, God will use our combined lights to light a dark world and we can rejoice in the blaze of glory it will produce for our blessed Father of lights.