Leviticus 6:8-13: a reflection

8The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 9“Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: the burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning; and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. 10The priest shall put on his linen garment, and he shall put on his linen trousers upon his body; and he shall remove the ashes from where the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. 11He shall take off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. 12The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning. He shall lay the burnt offering in order upon it, and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

Among the instructions for the burnt offering comes a command repeated for emphasis: The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it shall not go out. Every morning the priest was to add wood and arrange the offering, tending the flame so that it never died. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually, the passage insists; it shall not go out. The sacred fire was to be sustained by daily, faithful attention, never allowed to grow cold.

Notice what keeping the fire required: not a single grand kindling, but daily tending. Each morning the priest added fuel and cleared the ashes; the fire endured not by one dramatic act but by faithful, ongoing care. Left unattended, even a strong fire dies down to ash. The flame stayed alive only because someone tended it, day after day, without fail.

That is a picture of the life of devotion. The fire of faith and love for God is kept burning not by a single dramatic experience but by daily, faithful tending, prayer, the word, worship, the ordinary disciplines that add fuel to the flame. Neglected, left untended, even a fervent faith can slowly cool to embers. Tend the fire. Do not rely on some past kindling to keep you warm; add fuel daily through prayer and the word and worship, clearing away what would smother the flame. The fire on the altar was kept burning by daily care; keep the fire of your devotion burning the same way, and do not let it go out.

Lord, you commanded that the fire on the altar be kept burning continually and never go out, tended faithfully every morning with fresh fuel. Teach me to tend the fire of my devotion the same way. Keep me from relying on some past experience to keep me warm, letting the flame of faith and love for you slowly cool to embers through neglect. Help me add fuel daily through prayer, your word, and worship, clearing away whatever would smother the flame. Let my love for you be sustained by faithful, ongoing care, not left untended. Keep the fire burning in me, Lord, and do not let it go out.