Sorry to keep all of you waiting! **
When I was in National Service about 3 years ago, we went on an overnight camping trip out in the jungle. We hiked to the location in the day time, and reached by about mid day. By the time we had set up our tents, and started preparing and cooking dinner, it was about 4pm.
My trainers came over with a box of kerosene lamps, distributed them among my group, and told us that these would be our primary source of light during the night. The lamps were fueled by oil, and had dimmers where we could control the flame.
Our trainers told us that we needed to use the lamps sparingly as they weren't very efficient once all the oxygen was used up within the lamp. (Science lesson, anyone? Can you guess why? :) )
When night came, we carefully lit our lamps as we walked around the campsite doing our various tasks and assignments. At first, the flame burned normally, and gave a nice yellow glow as it lit our paths.
But slowly, the oxygen was used up, and the flame started producing a little soot. The soot quickly gathered on the glass panes of the lamp and clouded it. As the night went on, our once useful lamp grew dimmer and dimmer as the soot covered the glass panes, and eventually wasn't very useful anymore.
~*~
Jesus likens us, the children of God, to lights which point others to Jesus. We do not have any light in ourselves, but as we walk with Him in His paths, He gives His light (John 8:12).
Sin is like the soot that was emitted in those kerosene lamps that I used during that camping trip- it makes our testimony for Jesus dim. However, if we keep a close watch on the glass panes and clean it as soon as we notice soot on it, the lamp will continue to shine brightly.
Our consciences serve as indicators that tell us when we have "soot" building up in our lives. But the effectiveness of our conscience depends on how they are responded to.
During our 3rd meeting, we learned about 3 types of consciences:
(We made mini pizzas with faces that show the facial expressions of each conscience, and we had lots of fun!)
(Sharlene's pizza: this is a sad face with tears of repentance)
1. A clear/good conscience-
One that is sensitive to good and evil, and free from guilt.
A person with a good conscience is humble and will be quick to admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness.
(An angry face demonstrating discomfort and fear- by Angelyn)
2. A guilty conscience-
One that is bothered and troubled because of unresolved sin.
A person with a guilty conscience experiences discomfort and fear, but is unwilling, or too afraid to confess the sin.
(A dead conscience seems happy because it is not sensitive to sin- made by my Mum :))
3. A dead conscience-
One that is hardened against evil. A dead conscience does not occur overnight.
It results in ignoring your conscience so much that sin doesn't bother you anymore.
When a person has a dead conscience, he/she will not be able to be sensitive to God's voice.
None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. That's why Jesus died for us- so that we can have complete forgiveness and acceptance from God. Just as we confess our sins to the Lord (1 John 1:9), it's also important that we make right any offenses with the anyone we have wronged as soon as possible so that it will not damage our testimony for the Lord and our relationships with others.
Clearing our conscience is not an easy task because it requires alot of humility, but God promises us grace (motivation and strength) when we are humble (James 4:6). We also experience great freedom and joy when we have a clear conscience. :-)
(Click for a larger image)
l-r: Sharlene, Angelyn, Peiching and Jasmine :-)
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