Have you experienced the fire of Prometheus?
According to Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus created man out of clay and taught them to walk uprightly as the Gods. But at that time, the Gods considered man to be an animal; men were creatures without the gift of fire, which made their earth a cold, dark, and harsh place.
In time, Prometheus learned to love man more than his fellow Olympians and wanted to help them become more like the Gods.
Because of his love for mankind, Prometheus disobeyed the command of Zeus and stole fire from Mount Olympus. He then descended to earth and taught mankind how to build fires. With this gift, mankind could cook their food, build tools, stay warm, and perhaps most importantly, they could have light in the darkness.
Some say that Prometheus lingered and taught man the ways of godliness: organization, medicine, science, writing, mathematics, and agriculture.
In a jealous rage, Zeus punished Prometheus for eternity, banishing him from Mount Olympus forever.
But in spite of Zeus’s fury, mankind was never the same. The gift of fire—or the gift of light—gave them power to become as the gods.
Now I ask again, have you the fire of Prometheus? Has someone given you the gift of light when your world was cold, dark and harsh?
I believe that at various points in our lives we all experience moments of Promethean fire. For whatever reason we may feel as though we are wandering in darkness—lost and afraid. But then someone comes who, because of love, gives us the light. And with this light we are able to continue our forward walking.
If you have identified someone in your life who has been as Prometheus—someone who gave you light during a period of darkness—I encourage you to reach out and thank them.
And then I encourage you to be as Prometheus—give the gift of light to others.
