Candlelight

I have a tray of about 10 different candles in my living room. Some of them are short, some are tall, some are scented, some are not, and none of them are the same color. Yet at different points in time each of them had something special that made me want to purchase them. Yet, sitting in my living room, they are “just a bunch of candles”. What makes any of them attract attention compared to anything else in the room?

Light one, any one.

It doesn’t take long for a flickering candle flame to catch everyone’s attention. If only one candle on a tray of ten candles is lit, it is that one lit candle that will get the most attention. Why is that? It doesn’t matter if that one candle is shorter, fatter, taller, skinnier, prettier, more functional, more perfumed than the others – it matters that the candle holds the flame.

Darkness…
Think back to the last time there was a severe storm during the night at your house and you lost power. What was your first thought when the lights went out? My first thought was – do I have fresh batteries in my flashlight? My second thought was – light every candle in the house. Why is that? Why do we desire light? Darkness brings us into the world of the unknown – we are isolated by sight from one another, we are unfamiliar with our path and often stumble because we cannot see what lies ahead of us. There is a certain hopelessness that comes from “living in the dark”…but it only takes a spark to bring us out of the darkness and into the light.

Jesus – the Divine spark.
Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father) prophesied about the life work of his son and in so doing revealed how Jesus, the son of God would be the light of our world:

76And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
7to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."
(Luke 1:76-79)


And just as Zechariah prophesied, Jesus did come as a light to our world.

Jesus said, “…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) And again He said, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness”. (John 12:46)

Throughout Jesus’ life here on earth, He brought light everywhere He went. Where there was sickness, He brought healing
Where there was sin, He brought forgiveness
Where there were lies, He brought truth
Where there was confusion, He brought clarity
Where there was captivity, He brought freedom
Where there was judgment, He brought mercy

He lived His life on earth as a light among men, and died – innocent but judged guilty – that we might also have His light living in us, shining through us as His light to our world.

Catch fire!
In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus imparted his legacy of light to those who believe in Him when He said: “You are the light of the world.”

In my living room, on that tray of candles, if I only light one candle, only one candle will burn. If I want to light the other candles, I must bring a spark to each candle that I would like to burn. A candle cannot burn without first coming close to the flame.

In the same way, we cannot bring light without first coming into contact with Jesus – the divine spark. Think of the last time you lit one candle with the flame from another candle. When the dry wick came into contact with the flame, there was a burst of bright light as the two candles burned together. In the same way, the closer we stay to Jesus, the more we live our lives like His, the more we depend on Him for our light, the more we lean on His understanding more than our own, the more time we share with Him, the brighter and stronger our light is.

Stay lit!
Each candle has a life. At some point every one of the candles in my living room will burn until all the wax has melted away. But throughout the life of each “used up” candle – is a candle who has lived it’s purpose. God created each of us with a purpose – to accept the light of His love and to carry the flame of His love to our world. How do we live up to our purpose? How do we avoid “burning out”? We first recognize that a candle doesn’t light itself. While good works are a fruit of our Christian walk – just as an apple is the fruit of an apple seed, it is not: our works, our efforts or our good intentions that keep our light shining – rather, it is our commitment to spending time with Jesus every day.
Psalm 18:28 says, “You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light”.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you for coming to us as a light to our world. Thank you for shining your light in my heart – both revealing sin and completing forgiveness. Because of this – I carry your light – your hope – your joy. Let “this little light of mine” shine brightly as I remember to lean on you and spend time with you each day. Let me be drawn to you “as a moth to a flame”. May I live my life with purpose, holding your light aloft in this dark world that others may find the same hope and joy I have found in you.

Amen.