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“Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.”
Uni has resumed with slaps of assignments, school homework has started to pile and gone are the sleeping-till-11am days. Life has resumed to its daunting routine pace, dull and boring, especially when we come to terms with our spiritual life. But that wasn’t the case right after the 2011 Crossroads Winter Youth Camp.
I remembered wanting to read the Bible more and sing hymns in my own room when I first got back from camp. Everyday, everytime. I remembered wishing and hoping that the Saturday night Youth Service would come earlier. I was hoping to have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, if possible, all the time. I could even sing and dance to my iPod’s Praise and Worship playlist all day. In short, I was on fire. I was filled with spiritual fire.
Of course, one could have imagined and argued that all these “habits” were being influenced by the fact that all the campers experienced ample amounts of fun, doing exciting things one couldn’t do together continuously (including staying up late) and being able to relax and enjoy the presence of everyone while learning about God, all at the same time, for days and nights. The fervour and devotion are developed or re-ignited during the course of the camp, but the question lies at the end of the day: can you keep that same fire burning?
Modern fireplaces and heaters have taken the work out of keeping humans or pets warm and cosy in crazy cold climates. All we need to do nowadays is to set the timer on the thermostat and our home is comfortably warm when we get up in the morning or come home from work. However in the good old days, fire was meticulously tended and fuel supplies were closely monitored. Running out could easily mean hypothermia and even death.
The same is true when we are talking about the spiritual fire in our lives. However, if we were to think that our spiritual fire can be ignited as easily as a modern fireplace, we would then risk losing our fervour for the Lord.
In ancient Israel, the priests were strictly instructed and ordered not to let the fire on the Lord’s altar stifle and go out. (Leviticus 6:9, 12-13). This however, required a lot of hard work, not the least of which was collecting firewood in a land known for its dense forests and jungles.
Scholars see the burning fire on the altar as a symbol for the flame of Christian devotion for the Lord. Spiritual passion is not something to be treated lightly or taken for granted in our lives as Christians. It will grow cold if we fail to keep it supplied with fuel. And it definitely would “extinguish” if we led a fruitless spiritual life.
The apostle Paul had addressed the subject of spiritual fervour in his letter to the Romans. We are to keep the spiritual fire of our devotion burning strong and in that, we must continue the hard work in stocking our spiritual fuel as it’s a daily thing and definitely not a once-a-camp thing.
“How? Supply it with hope, patience, daily steadfast prayer, meditation, humility, generosity and hospitality.“
O Highest Lord from above, my heart is your altar,
For my love for You is the ever burning spiritual flame;
Help me keep the spiritual fire burning for You, Lord,
And I will rejoice forever and ever, in Your Holy name. – Joshiella
Always remember this - when we love someone dearly, we give our best for that person. That fire is in us. It works the same for our dear Jesus Christ. Our love for Jesus is the key to our spiritual passion and fire.
The friendly verse in line with this article can be read from: Romans 12:11
“Let us all burn with spiritual fire.”
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