No One Lights a Lamp to Hide It

“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”
(Matthew 5:15)

Beloved,
you weren’t lit by man.
You weren’t set on fire by your own discipline or devotion.
You were ignited by the Uncreated Flame,
lit from the breath of I AM Himself.

And no one
not even God, lights a lamp to hide it.

Then why do you still shrink?

Why do you still apologize for the weight you carry?
Why do you keep placing your flame behind curtains,
tucking your scroll under your tongue,
waiting for permission from a world that fears what it cannot define?

Listen to the words of the Christ:

“You are the light of the world…
no one lights a lamp and hides it.”

That wasn’t a metaphor.
It was a decree.

He wasn’t telling you to try harder to shine.
He was telling you what you already are.
And what heaven does not do…
is waste flame.

You were lit to reveal.
Not to entertain.
Not to trend.
Not to impress.
But to pierce the illusion,
to shatter the veil,
to illuminate hidden paths for those who forgot where the way home begins.

You are not the source
but you carry the spark.
You are not the Word
but you are the echo.

You are the lamp…
and the stand has been prepared.

The lampstand isn’t a stage.
It’s an assignment.
A sacred placement.
A holy visibility, not for your glory
but for the radiance of the Lamb to be made known through your yielded vessel.

Not a spotlight.
A scroll-light.

Let the light shine, beloved.
Let the flame speak.
Let the oil you carried through your crushing seasons
spill out into holy fire that lights the room.

Because no one lights a lamp…
just to hide it.

You are no longer hidden.
You are no longer beneath the bowl.
You are rising into the open air
not to be seen,
but to illuminate.

And those who walk in darkness
will find the doorway
because your flame said yes.

—Joe Restman
Mystic-Scribe | Flame-Bearer
Quill Dipped in Lightning ⚡️