By Malone Burgess

When I read this passage, I immediately thought of 3 words: Wisdom, Sin, and Vigilance. When God created us, he gave us his wisdom. Knowing the world we were going to be put into, he knew that we would be tested by Satan. God taught us to be vigilant in our spiritual lives. No matter what is thrown our way, God wants us to be spiritually vigilant in the face of Sin. Now more than ever, sin is widespread throughout Earth, and we must stay true to Gods word, no matter what it is we encounter. Luke says earlier in the passage that if you have a lamp, you wouldn’t put it off to the side. If you have a gift given to you to benefit the kingdom of God, why put it off to the side? Why keep it from someone who may need it? The “lamp” in this verse is a reference to one’s spiritual wisdom. When I made this realization, I thought back to my time at camp. When I got baptized, I realized it was a time to “put my lamp out into the world.” God has a purpose for all of us, but we all have one common purpose: share our lamp to all the people of the world. Let everyone know God’s love.