September 27

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” — JOHN 8:12

Opposite the table of bread, on the south side of the Holy Place, was a seven-pronged lampstand. It was trimmed and lit every evening and through the long hours of the night threw back the darkness and gave light. The source of the light was pure olive oil, freshly pressed, which had to be renewed every day. Not only did it have immediate benefit in the light it gave, but the Lord said to Moses about the lamp, “This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come” (Leviticus 24:3). Here, there is a message designed for all time.

This can only be a picture of the Holy Spirit. Oil is a consistent symbol of the Spirit right through Scripture, and it is the Spirit who illuminates and gives direction. It is our life “in the Spirit” that needs to be renewed everyday and as Christians, we are the lampstand in whom the light of God is to be seen. True as it is that we are to be lights, there can be no light without oil. The lamp is merely the vehicle through which the oil can express its capacity and release its energy. The lamp has no capability of its own, and is not the source of light. It is the Holy Spirit; the dynamic of God, whose life and energy is expressed through God’s people.

Paul’s command is to “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise, but as wise… Do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is… Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:15, 18). For every child of God, being filled with the Spirit is His will. To not live in the fullness of the Spirit is not only foolish, but disobedient. There can hardly be a greater judgment of God on His people than that threatened in the letter of Jesus to the church in Ephesus. He said, “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:5). 

The church in Ephesus had been grieving the Holy Spirit, and so quenching His role among them in that the light of which He was the source, was in danger of being snuffed out. When we quench the Holy Spirit, we drive God out, not in relation to our salvation, but in relation to our usefulness and fruitfulness. Just as the oil in the lamp had to be renewed every day, we need to come to Christ every day with a fresh and new expectancy of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, so that we may become better conduits of His light.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I pray for a daily renewal of the work of your Spirit so that your light may be seen in me. Thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: How can I brighten the light of Christ in my life?