[Jesus speaking]
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

When I think of this passage, a campfire comes to mind. It is great at providing light and warmth to the area around it. To start a campfire and get it going well can take me anywhere from twenty to forty minutes. I also need special supplies called “kindling”, which can include thin sticks, pine needles, moss, or other man-made flammable fire starters like newspaper or cardboard. Once the fire is going, as long as I have wood, it is not difficult to keep it going because it is hungry for more wood to burn (fuel load).

The above passage talks about light and it is used as an analogy to our spiritual life and how passionate we are about it. Back then the lamps they used to carry, like a torch, were fueled by oil. If you were not prepared and ran out of oil, your light would go out and you could not find your way.

When I think about what my light is in God’s Kingdom, it is the belief and actions I have based on Jesus Christ being my Lord and Savior. I trust him, I follow him, and I stand up for his name. I seek out, figure out, and do his will. I do his will first, before my desires are met. This is the light that burns inside my heart — namely my passion and drive to become a servant of Jesus Christ.

This light extends to all those around me, if I maintain it. I must add fuel to it, just like we do with a fire to keep it going. The places I gain good fuel for my spiritual fire are my Fill Up Stations. Each week, I have a variety of Fill Up Stations I visit: church service, my quiet times, my community group, my men’s prayer lunch, and my prayer ministry on Sundays, among other things.

If I slack on my Fill Up Stations in a given week, I become depleted and my light dims. My attitude becomes less attractive to those around me. I become more selfish.

Jesus is telling us to stay “full-up” on the good food we need to feed the fire in our hearts. He wants us to always be ready for his return. He does not want us to wonder or worry about our heavenly destination, but instead advance His Kingdom here on earth. This means I stay faithful as he is faithful. I spend time studying his Word and praying, listening to Bible teaching and serving and loving one another, and meeting together with other believers to fellowship and break bread.

So how can I keep the flame of my heart burning? I must feed it all week long!

Lord, thank you for your great encouragement to feast on your Word and your ways today. Teach me to love well and respond in kindness to those who are tough to love. May my light be a copy of your light in this world!