Finding Our Place, Luke 11:33

"No man, when he hath lighted a candel, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light."

     It seems rather obvious that you would not light a candle and then go put it somewhere where no one can see its light. What would be the point in lighting it? The whole reason that you light a candle is so that you can have light, and if you take that light and put it somewhere remote or hide it under a basket or put it in the closet, what good is that? You are still without light, even though you have lit the candle. In this same way, we as Christians are the light of the world: Christ has lit us with His Holy Spirit, making us a light in the dark world of sin and curruption in which we live. What purpose would it serve if, after being lit, we hid ourselves? The natural place for a candle that has been lit is a candlestick. The candlestick was made for the very purpose of holding up the lit candle, enabling the candle to shine forth its light to those who see it. As Christians, where is our place? What is our candlestick, so to speak?
     As followers of Christ who have been called to go forth into all the world and make disciples of all nations, it is essential that we rely upon the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Our place must be a place of submission to God and His authority, obediently going where He tells us to go and doing what He tells us to do, saying what He tells us to say. Without obedience and submission to God, as lights we are bound to be blown out by the winds of adversity and doubt. If we try to go forth in our own strength and in our own power, there is only so much we can accomplish (for our resources are limited and exhaustible). But if we rely upon the power and strength of God, provided by the Holy Spirit (which is inexhaustible), we can be sure that we are shining brightly for the Lord.

     Our place can never be one of living for our own pleasures, trying to find comfort and rest, living for the fulfillment of our own desires and passions. This would be the equivalent to hiding a lit candle in a closet or putting it in an unattended room, etc. Jesus Christ died on the cross to clease you and purge you of your sin, and thus you have the promise (by accepting that sacrifice) of eternal life with Him in heaven. But He has also commissioned us, as His children, to go forth and do His work, which is to call others unto Himself and make disciples of all nations. There is more to salvation than future promises. He wants us to be a witness for Him to the lost and perishing people of the world.
     By finding out place, which is to be a submissive servant of Christ Jesus, we can be sure that we are going to be used by the Lord to fulfill this purpose He has called us to. We can be sure that He will direct us to those places where He would have us to go and give us the words that He would have us to speak. But if we remain unsubmissive, living according to our own will, not seeking His will, then we are as candles without a candlestick, which are hardly used to light anything since they fall over and cannot be relied upon to give proper light.

     Another aspect of a candlestick is that it has more than one candle on it (or it did in those days). As Christians, we are not lone rangers, lighting the world by ourselves, but when we are submissive to Christ and His calling He will use us along with other believers to accomplish His will.