Candlelight

So, here is a question you may actually hear asked in our home now:

“Honey, did you turn off the candles?”

And the response may be, “No, they turned off automatically a while ago.”

Yep. We have battery operated fake candles now. We already had a fireplace that turned on or off with a switch – in fact TWO options, electric and gas – and now we have expanded the pseudo-incendiary arsenal to smaller, more versatile units.

I have to say, they ARE pretty cool. And that is a double entendre that really got me thinking.

First, I mean that the ascetic effect is nice. The candles (or the fireplaces) make you feel good just by looking at them. I suppose some subconscious association with ACTUAL candles produces this effect. Add to that the fact that these candles even simulate flickering, especially as the light bounces off nearby objects in the dark. Ah! Such a cozy look!

But in the more literal sense of cool, these candles are more like fake news – looks like the real thing at a quick glance, or out of the corner of the eye, especially across a room, but up close the substance is not all there. They throw light, yes. But where is the heat? In this sense, one might argue the electric fireplace is almost a real fireplace (you know, except for the – well, fire). But the battery operated candle, not so much.

We know candles are about LIGHT (we even use "candle" as term for measuring light), but they are also about HEAT. Before electricity, houses were lit by candles and oil lamps. But did you know that an oil lamp could also heat a room? In cold winters back then, a family might huddle around an oil lamp to avoid freezing!

Now, a single candle wouldn’t be as effective as a lamp, but the principle is there. In a cold, dark world, a real flame is a source of light, and warmth, and to some extent, life. It can also be dangerous. An open flame burns up dry things like old dead sticks or old clothing.

Well, there are great spiritual analogies here. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Light that came into the world. Further, his coming, and his life, were a demonstration of perpetual and perfect love (warmth). More yet, for those who trust him, this Light is also Life. Jesus is salvation from a cold, dark, death. But this Light is also dangerous, for his judging fire burns up wood, hay, and stubble. It burns up old clothes – the things from a Christian’s old life that tend to still cling to him. For those who reject Jesus, this burning becomes eternal judgment.

And we Christians are children of the light.

But are we like Jesus, reflecting the true Light in all his properties (light, warmth, life)? Or are we like the battery-operated candles? Do we turn on our light at desired moments? Is it set on a timer to come on Sunday mornings around, say, 10am? Are we completely lacking warmth and life for those who come close? Are we running on short-lived batteries, or burning an endless supply of oil from Christ’s Spirit? Do we offer a feel-good light that is artificial and safe?

Matthew 5:14–16 (ESV) 

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”