As I type this, there’s a crisis unfolding in homes across India.

If the conflict in the Middle East continues, we will have to shut off our stovetops.

India imports most of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the Middle East. Almost all Indian homes buy LPG cylinders, which fuel our gas stoves. At my home, every month or so, we roll in a heavy red metal cylinder and hook it up to our stovetop. Limited LPG means we need to pivot from decades of cooking on gas stovetops and find alternative ways to cook.

As soon as I heard about the impending problem, I went on Amazon to buy an induction stove. Turns out, only a few hundred thousand others had the exact same brilliant idea. While about 10 brands sold induction stoves, all of them were out of stock.

I switched to Plan B. With a few more clicks, I bought an Instant Pot. Between the electric rice cooker, an Instant Pot, and my oven, we won’t need to resort to a raw food diet (phew). (Hey, I like salads—just not all the time.

Many people in the rest of the country aren’t as fortunate. For those who don’t have the financial means to hop on Amazon, the immediate future looks bleak. Their only option is to buy LPG cylinders on the black market.

We Indians need the sizzling heat of our gas cooktops to make our chai and butter chicken. Induction stoves with their single electric burners simply won’t cut it. In some sense, we need to keep the fire going.

Our current situation reminded me of a section in the book of Leviticus (where I’ve been camped out for several weeks). God instructs Aaron and the priests to keep the lamps on the lampstand in the Tabernacle burning continually (Leviticus 24). The priests are instructed to regularly fill the lampstand with pure oil to keep it burning. Three times, Moses repeats the word “continually”— driving home the point that the fire cannot go out.

What does that mean for us today? Beyond LPG cylinders, how do we keep the flame burning? And what is the flame God is referring to?

As I read the chapter, I thought of the flame of faith in my own heart. Sometimes, the flame has blazed passionately. At other times, it’s been on simmer. Barely a flicker.

As followers of Christ, how do we keep the fire going? How do we tend the flame the way the Levitical priests kept the lampstands in the tabernacle burning?

We tend the fire when we humble ourselves before God and rely on the Holy Spirit, who is represented by the pure olive oil for the lamps.
We tend the fire when we meet Him—not out of duty, but desire—to listen for His voice.
We tend the fire when we respond in obedience, even when it costs us something.

Unlike the LPG cylinder crisis in India, the source of the fire is always available to us. The question is whether we are stoking the flame or smothering it.

In the last week or so, as I saw friends and family scramble to get gas cylinders to keep the “fires” going, I wondered if I cared as much about the fire of the Spirit. Do I have the same sense of urgency to fan into flame the gift of God that is in me?

Just as the lampstand required tending, our relationship with God requires nurturing. While eternal life is a free gift from God, we still need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

May we not let the light of our faith grow dim. May we, instead, stoke those flames so we are on fire for God, continually relying on the Holy Spirit to fuel our faith walk.

 

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