Leviticus chapter 6 verses 12-13 (NIV)
The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.
The importance of keeping the fire burning on the altar is mentioned several times in this chapter up to this point, even down to the fact that it was to remind burning overnight.
That got me thinking about the intentional things the priests would have to do. They would need to keep an eye on it, make sure there was enough firewood and someone would have to take turn on the night watch. They couldn’t take the chance of neglecting it.
But what about us? When the Lord ignites a fire within our lives it may well burn fiercely in the beginning, but do we care for it, or do we neglect it and let it grow dim. God may be the only One who can ignite the fire, but He expects us to diligently care for it as the priests did. We do so by living rightly before God. After all the closer we remain to the Lord, the brighter the fire will burn.
Dear Lord,
Let the fire burn so bright in me that it touches others. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.