The Candlestick

The Candlestick

No man, when he lighteth a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

Luke 11 v 33

Jesus said, “ We do not light a candle and then hide it under a bed or another cover or vessel.” When we keep our gifts, knowledge, wisdom, talents and opportunities dormant and idle, it is like hiding the candle under the bed. We run the risk of allowing the bed to catch fire as we are sleeping. It is downright dangerous. The cover or bushel is a metaphor for a weak testimony, a poor correlation between our faith and our relationships, between our beliefs and our attitudes, between our gifting and the manifestation of our gift. We do not hide the candle under such camouflage. For one thing without oxygen, the flame will get extinguished and secondly, the light is meant to shine in the darkness. Similarly, we are not to hide the truth that God has spoken into our lives. We are to share the light of the truth with people living in darkness and ignorance of where they came from, of what is right and wrong, what they need to do and where they are going. Once they know they came from God and are children of God, that they are to do the right thing and avoid the wrong, that they need to bring glory to the Father in heaven by their deeds and words and they have the security that the knowledge of eternal salvation gives them, their whole lives become meaningful, effective and powerful. They like us move from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge.



We cannot keep our faith a secret. Even our thoughts get manifested in words and deeds. Every word we speak should bring glory to God and not make Him hide His face from us. Everything we do should distinguish us as people who belong to the light. The taller the candlestick, the greater the arc of light it throws all round. Similarly, the bigger our responsibilities, positions, titles and network, the greater is the arc of our influence. The candlestick or pedestal is a metaphor for our jobs, careers, qualifications, titles, activities, profession, contacts. We must not be unambitious for God but we must aim for such vantage positions in life that will enable us to shine for God in this dark world, in our work and in the midst of a perverse and crooked generation.

Candlesticks are made of wrought iron or brass or such other hard metal that have a high melting point. We too should have a high melting point to resist the heat and pressure of this world. We must not wilt under pressure or heat but seek to be consistent at all times in the fervour of our faith and our walk. The reason is that the candlestick should not itself get burnt by the heat of the candle flame as it burns and gets closer to the base. The candlestick should be stable and durable. If it is not stable, the melting wax will fall all over the place. As our lives get closer to the finish, our faith should be fanned into full flame. Even after the flame is extinguished, the candlestick remains. Our testimony and legacy will remain to inspire the next generation to move forward in faith.

Prateep V Philip