The Pilot Light

T

he last time my parents remodeled our home on Main Street, they made several drastic changes.  Not only did they alter the house structurally, making two new rooms and cutting a hole in the front of the house for a bay window; they also made changes in the heating system of the house.  Mom and dad decided to change from electricity to natural gas as a source for their heat, hot water, dryer, and cooking appliances in the kitchen.  We knew several families who had made the switch and mom and dad decided this would be a good move for them.

I distinctly remember the day the workers completed their task.  Our family was so excited and we moved all the furniture back into the house and mom spent weeks getting everything just as she wanted it.  No matter how much time you spend in construction, it’s nothing compared with the time spent arranging the house and its furnishings until everything is just perfect!

Not long after the remodeling was completed, I was in our basement.  It was always dark down there and as a kid I was convinced the whole place was haunted and inhabited by a host of hobgoblins.  You know how it is, a kid’s imagination just runs away from him and he imagines all kinds of things and all of them are real.  Anyway, on this particular day, I was convinced the goblins had returned to set up housekeeping in our new home.  In the basement, I saw an eerie blue light glowing from the furnace.  I wasn’t sure what this was but decided to investigate.  As I approached the furnace, I was very surprised to see an open flame burning, shedding a small glow in the basement’s darkness.

I immediately panicked, not knowing what to do.  I mean, there was a fire in our basement, an open flame that needed to be extinguished.  However, as I watched that flame, it just continued to glow, flickering harmlessly in the darkness.  Then I remembered what my dad had told me earlier.  Gas appliances have a pilot light, a flame that continually burns to prevent natural gas from building up in the house.  The pilot light also serves as the source of fuel for the appliances, supplying the necessary spark to run them when they are called into action.

As Christians, we have an ever-present pilot light in Jesus Christ.  John 1:5 gives us a wonderful description of this light that came into the world to dispel the darkness of sin.  “The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” This is one of the most beautiful passages in all the Scriptures.  Before the coming of Jesus Christ, the world was completely immersed in darkness.  There was no light to bring man to God and the darkness of sin left man without hope, without the ability to see where he was going.  But when the time was right God sent Jesus into the world to shine the light of His mercy and grace, to provide a way for man to come to the light of salvation and come out of his sin.

Notice that John writes this verse in the present tense.  The light always shines in the darkness.  It is always there, always glowing, always providing the spark that brings us into the light of God’s salvation, and the darkness of the world is powerless to put it out.  No matter how dark the storm, no matter how gloomy the way, no matter how thick the night might be around us, the light of God’s love and salvation shines in the darkness and the darkness can never put it out!

How long has it been since you noticed the Pilot Light of life?  When was the last time you were in a dark place?  How long has it been since the darkness made you realize and be thankful for the light of God’s salvation, the light that can never go out and that will never, never grow dim? Don’t you think it’s time you checked your heart’s pilot light today?