Have you ever tried to light a candle in a darkened room only to watch it sputter and struggle to stay lit? It's almost as if the impurities of the wick or maybe just the wax of the candle challenge the struggling flame for it's right to survive. Sometimes, without the patience to once again hold the igniting fire to the wick, we'll watch the sputtering flicker of flame die out and once again yield to the darkness. As Christians, we are spiritual candles of our Lord's creation.
I can relate to that struggling candle in so many ways while looking back at my own life. It seems so clear to me looking back now, but in the beginning, there were so many things that I had to learn in order to be able to see and it's clear that I'm still learning now. As the illumination of that struggling flame in my life has grown stronger, it's given me the ability to see more things clearly that before were in the dark. There have been sudden drafts - events in life, conceived by the darkness, that laid that little flame low and threatened to snuff it out to let the intentions of darkness prevail. But again, mercifully, the patient hand of grace that bears the eternal flame came to me once more to apply fire to my wick.
Like spirit, that flame has no tangible surface or form that one can feel by physical touch, but it's power is undeniable and the burn of it can be felt instantly by curious fingers. It's warmth and comforting light give peace and confidence against the cold darkness that opposes our progress on the pathway to our goal. Without that flame, we'd be undeniably lost and hopeless - wandering obliviously and aimlessly toward perils that we couldn't see. Such is the goal of darkness.
The Holy Spirit of our God is the flame that lights our way igniting understanding, giving the warmth of wisdom and the light of sure guidance. Though the power of the Holy Spirit is certainly not weak, our ability to hold the flame of it can be because of the impurities of our flesh. So in order to stay brightly lit, we have to stay close to the eternal flame and are forever dependent on the total grace of the One who holds it. We have the responsibility to do our best to avoid exposing ourselves unnecessarily to drafty (worldly) spirits and places that would diminish our ability to hold that glorious, life giving light.
In the light, I've already seen that there's so much to acknowledge and accept. There are past paths and attitudes to ask forgiveness for and so many preconceived ideas and view points to adjust to the truth. One thing's crystal clear and glaring above all else in the majority of my own life past. I didn't see then - so I didn't understand. For me personally, not understanding led to a lot of needless pain, struggle and confusion.
What made the difference was a perspective ( a position or viewpoint from which we "see" things) that didn't allow for the pre-existence of worldly proof in order to believe, but instead required belief first, in order to experience the existence of the proof of the glorious truth. I had to be willing to expose myself to the fire. It required getting weary enough of bumping into painful things in the dark to be willing to have faith or trust to believe in the certainty of the light. There's a part of me that that would say that it's too bad that it took most of a life time for me to figure it out. One that wishes that I could have really "known" the truth from the beginning instead of having to go through the struggles and pain in order to come to recognize the pure perfection of God's order and the truth of His Word. One that morns the time "wasted" wandering around in the dark. But time is never wasted in God's plans for us and part of the value of painful education is in the fact that it breeds spiritual flavor and character that our Lord enjoys. Certainly, it's the hard lessons we remember the most and are most deeply changed and affected by. They can breed true and lasting gratitude, wisdom and trust in the light of the eternal flame - IF, they're viewed from God's perspective - the truth.
It's purely grace that brings the flame to our lives. We being candles have no power to light ourselves, but the hand that guides us in the dark stands by ever ready should we make a request. Standing close to one another, purely by grace (we can claim no credit for the flame we hold), we have the ability to share the flame with one another. To help light other unlit candles or just to help insure that we continue to burn brightly. But a candle standing stubbornly in the drafts of life on it's own without the willingness to seek God's grace continually, or the closeness of others brightly lit, stands little chance of burning brightly if at all (one of those unforgettable lessons).
One of the interesting characteristics of fire is that once born it can breed itself. All it needs is willing fuel - perhaps a candle willing to submit to burn...
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