The Lighted Household
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle,
and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew
5:14-16)
No doubt Jesus could remember many a night during His boyhood years in the home at Nazareth when
His mother lighted a lamp, giving its cheerful light to all in the house. The lamp with which Jesus was familiar
and used for domestic purposes was a little terra cotta vessel, shaped like a shallow pitcher, with a hole for
pouring in the olive oil and a sprout for the wick.
Jesus never saw a gas light, an electric light, or a neon light. But He must have loved the little oil lamps
in His mother’s household and appreciated their usefulness. The little oil lamp showed Him more of the light of
God’s Kingdom than men today can see with their most brilliant electric lights. He understood more about
moral and spiritual light than any other who has ever lived.
He took this little oil lamp and used it again and again in His teachings. “Neither do men light a candle,
and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all in the house.” “Then shall the
kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.”
“The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”
Even in this age of light, every household needs the light of Christ, the light that He is, and the light that
He gives. “Ye are the light,” He says; “Even so let your light shine.” Help to make yours the lighted household
that it ought to be.
What a vast difference is made upon any scene, anywhere, anytime when light is allowed to have entry.
Darkness must go away even if the light is presented by the smallest of candles. Darkness flees away to outer
regions. In our home is a unique lamp made by drilling a sizable hole in a rock of salt and inserting a small bulb
in the cavity. When the light is turned on, the light glows through the rock, emitting a pleasant amber glow. God
is pleased to shine upon our hearts and dispel the darkness of sin, selfishness, and blindness. He desires to fill us
with the light of His love, truth, and grace. He aims to help us in our home and family life and to enable us to let
our light shine so that we shall be an inspiration, comfort, and blessing to those around us.
When God’s light penetrates the deep cavity of our heart, be it salty from the saltiness of the world; or
hard and calloused, the rays of His presence will not fail to dispel the darkness and let the light in.
Francis Mason
Pastor Mason