I am a kerosene lamp: Part 2

In my last post, I shared a vision I had of being a kerosene lamp.  If you need a refresher, read it here.  

I don't  like to explain the things I write about; I want to provoke thought through what I write.  But as I began to understand more of what this image of the lamp means to me, I felt like I should share both the image and the interpretation, so here goes.  

It makes sense to me that Jesus is the one who lights me like a lamp.  He is the one I have to soak in like the wick soaks in the fuel so it can burn brightly.  And it makes sense that Jesus is the one that lights the lamp.  He is the one that makes my soul come alive.  He gives me purpose and passion.  I understand these parts of the image.

The thing that caught my attention most about the scenario that played out in the vision doesn't make sense to me though.  Jesus' hands were reflecting the light and heat coming off of me, the lamp.  Shouldn't it be the other way around?  Aren't I supposed to be reflecting Him to everyone around me?

Well, I do.  It is only by soaking in His Presence, His Spirit literally inside of me that I can keep burning brightly.  Without being saturated in fuel, the wick would quickly burn down to nothing.  The same is true of me if I'm not saturated in God.

God is using this image to show me what our relationship is really like.  First, it is not just that He shines and I reflect, each one of us fulfilling our set role, holding up our own ends of the bargain.  It is much more complicated than that:

1. He prepares me to shine by putting His Spirit inside of me and His image all over me, and by welcoming me to soak in His Presence.  
2. He lights me and causes me to shine by making my heart so alive and giving me passions that drive me to seek His kingdom and seek to see it fill the world around me.  
3. He also is the means by which His Light is reflected as He surrounds me with grace and perfectly orchestrates my gifts, abilities, relationships and opportunities.

He does it all in me.  I cannot so much as reflect His Light without His help.  Reflecting His glory is not my burden or task.  It is something I just do; it becomes my nature if I soak Him in and allow Him to consume me like a flame.  If I allow Him to surround me with His hands, together we will burn brightly, and the light will fill the whole room, the whole house, the whole world.


As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Let me know if you have anything to add to what I think God is saying through this image by leaving a comment below or using the form on the Contact Me page to email me.