Obaba Museum

If you live in Nigeria, You might be familiar with the two types of lamp in the images below.

While having a conversation with Aunty Margaret she discussed with us two types of christians as relating to this lamps and with her permission we are making this post on it.

The two lamps shown above are kerosene lamps but are erroneously called gas lamps. With one being called The Shakabula and the other simply called Gas lamp. They are used by small stalls or tabletop sellers as they are easy to afford and cost less than any other form of providing lighting.

The Shakabula is housed in a bottle and has a wool attached to the mouth which the torch lights on. It starts instantaneously after being lit but releases a lot of CO fumes throughout. It’s bright only about a few metres for just a table and dies off quickly. It’s most noticeable feature are the fumes it releases so a lot of people stay far away from it.

The Gas Lamp on the other hand is housed in a lantern-like metal. It has to be pumped for minutes before it eventually starts. It’s bright enough to light a room and lasts for hours. The light from it can be seen from metres away. It has a very clear and pure flame and releases no fumes. It is bigger than the shakabula by a lot and is mostly used by Mai Suya(Suya Men)

Relating this to Christian life, not a lot of christians are like the gas lamp. These christians who are like it would have undergone in depth training in the word of God and biblical principles(time used to pump it and start it up), developed a life of purity (pure flames), influence a lot of people without making noise (bright light without smoke), are very valuable to the kingdom of God(More Expensive) and have increased their capacity to receive(larger size hence more kerosene). All these qualities enable the to be strong in the faith and hold on to the word for a long time.

The shakabula Christian on the other hand are Christians who do not patiently indoctrinate the Christian values and principles as stated in the bible(starts up immediately), has an impure life and makes a lot of noise(pungent fumes), don’t influence a lot of people(dim light), are usually praised on earth but have no value in the kingdom of God (widely used little output).

The difference in this christians is because most people just see Christianity as something to do not as a personality or way of life. Like our personalities ans our présent behaviours grow overtime with practice, our Christian life also grows over time with us practicing biblical values.

Christianity to the Shakabula christian is like the seeds planted on a rock, the seed grows for a while and is very visible because it’s on a rock, but withers and dries eventually because it’s roots are not fully tied to the soil. In their later lives people tend to say of them ‘He/She used to be very active in the work of God’ but their fire has died as it is not well fueled.

We can decide to be either of the two
types of christians. The Christian who quickly catches fire without being fully rooted in principles of the scripture and dies out quick
 or 
we can be Christians who take time to grow and understand biblical principles and continue to grow in the faith. 
Which are you?