Proverbs 6:23
For this command is a lamp,this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life,
In 2012, I experienced the loss of my father due to a heart attack. Prior to his passing, he underwent two years of dialysis, causing his strength to slowly diminish. I still remember the words he spoke whenever my sister and I would visit him at the hospital, "I feel like a candle's wick, slowly burning and fading." These words troubled me for a while, but as I continued to seek God, my fear transformed into joy. Moreover, I gained God's wisdom to count my days in His terms and ways.
The ancient Hebrews used to have palm-sized lamps that they would hold upright in the palm of their hand. Similar to modern-day candles, these lamps required a wick and olive oil to light up the night. God used this analogy to impart great wisdom to us. Firstly, we need to hold our lamps upright in our hands, just like the ancient Hebrews. Secondly, we need fresh oil every day to keep our lamps fueled. Thirdly, the wick symbolizes our life and must be trimmed every time to ensure that it lights and absorbs the oil to burn. Similarly, correction and instruction are necessary to ensure that we burn with the Holy Spirit's fire. Finally, the oil itself will not light a fire, but it will be consumed and heated. The wick will burn momentarily, but not long enough to light without the oil.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." The world is constantly seeking to preserve and prolong life, but we will all eventually breathe our last. This is the inevitability of life, and we may feel like our wick is almost gone. However, this is just our physical life. There is another life that is eternal, where there will be no more darkness, and we won't need to light anything because God Himself is the light.
My father passed away while accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. I am sure of that. I had issues with my dad, like many of us, but he said sorry and repented with Jesus in his heart. It took him 55 years to know Him. But towards his last breath, he said to us in a completely dark room of the hospital, "It's very bright, turn off the light," and then he breathed his last. His wick had been consumed, but this time, it burned with the Holy Oil of Jesus in the palm of His hand. #proverbsaday #ChristianInspiration