Fuel Your Lamp

And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ – Matthew 25:8

I’ve seen far too many memes on Facebook about the end of the world.

People often say to live every day like it’s your last. Maybe this year has put that into real perspective for us. With everything going on, each day seems more uncertain than ever before. So, I ask, what would you do if today was your last day?

Often living every day to the fullest brings to our minds loving those around us better, eating the foods we like, less electronics and more outdoors, less bitterness and more forgiveness, less selfishness and more love.

All good things. All important things.

However.

Sometimes we forget that our last day does not mean the end. There is a life after this one. So, if we were to spend our last day making things right in this life, what care have we taken to make things right with God? The one who “judges the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:5).

Whether you have read the story of the ten virgins before or not. Context is important. Take a second and read Matthew 25:1-13.

I specifically quoted verse 8 at the top of this post because that verse stuck out to me.

The foolish virgins’ lamps were going out. Their lamps were not dead yet. And they refueled their lamps. But it was too late.

They spent the last moments that counted scrambling for a shred of hope that their lamps could reignite, instead of coming prepared to combat the darkness during the long wait for the bridegroom.

What about you? Has the fire and passion of your relationship with God gone dormant? Has building that Scriptural foundation and growing your love for God and His creation become second priority to all the to-dos you have on your list each day?

If you knew today was your last would you be confident in your relationship with God, or would you spend your last moments frantically fixing what should have already been fostered and cared for from the beginning?

Is your lamp going out?

Each new day is a second chance. Each new second is a second chance. Don’t wait until tomorrow to refuel your lamp. Start right now.

I thank God that salvation is not based on works. Otherwise I’d have been a goner a long time ago. There is nothing any of us could do to earn salvation or to earn entrance into heaven. Into His courts. But because of the gloriousness of this beautiful gift, we should want to steward what we have been given well.

The Lord knows, I have not been stewarding my gift.

TV, hanging with friends, playing music, my job, working out, signing up for classes, taking some “me-time”. These are the things that have been getting in the way.

None of these things are inherently bad. But they became the excuses I made to not fuel my lamp.

They were the excuses I made to not read my Bible. To not spend time on my knees in prayer. To not spend quality time with my Heavenly Father.

I had claimed to love Jesus when I didn’t very often spend important time to grow that love for Him. To show Him that love.

You understand. Actions speak louder than words. You’d seriously doubt if someone loves you when they say they do but rarely commit quality time to you.

God forbid that any of us deny Him our love in this way.

What excuses are you making today?

Fellow Christian, I mean none of this to cause you to be hopeless, or to condemn you because of your past and present mistakes. The Lord knows I have had my fair share of mistakes, even in the last 24 hours. None of us are perfect. Being imperfect does not cost you your salvation. If it did, there would have been no reason for Jesus to die on the cross for you and me. Perfection and perfect relationship with God will not come until we are taken into Heaven.

But fellow Christian hear me when I say this.

It is imperative that we love God like we claim to. It is so important to commit your precious time to Jesus. Now is not the time to push it off.

I’m sure you’re like me, you want to hear “well done, good and faithful servant” not, “I never knew you.”

Take heart. You have a second chance. Right now! Right now is your second chance. Fuel that lamp.

Live today like it’s your last. Live tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, like you have no tomorrow. Get right with God. Open that Bible, find out why He is so worthy of your love. Praise Him for it.

And don’t make it a checklist. Nobody, especially God, wants gifts of obligation.

Do it because you want to learn how to love God. Your relationship with Him will become stronger, and more personal to you because of it.

So many beautiful things await you in the pages of your Bible, and in the quiet space of your prayer closet. Go there, child of God.

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A friend of mine has been encouraging my family to fuel our lamps, which inspired me to write this post. I hope this message reaches your heart as well.

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