Flame

Last night, my wife lit a candle in remembrance of our most recent loss.  October 15, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss remembrance day.  Several times, I turned off the lights to watch the little candle burn as the only source of light in the room.  Sure there was light coming in from outside, but it wasn't anything like the brightness that came from that little candle.

Three times during the evening one of the kids would put the lid on the candle and the flame out go out.  Three times my wife or myself had to relight the candle so the flame could once again burn bright.

As I sat there watching the candle and thinking about the events and situation surrounding that candle, I couldn't help but keep my mind from a string of thoughts.

First, I thought about how without darkness the candle light would be so lost.  If you light a candle during the middle of the day the light is barely noticeable. Sure you may notice the flame, but you really won't see the light that comes from it streaking across the room.  It paints a perfect picture about how often we take something so small for granted.  We take our spouse, our kids, our family and friends all for granted until one of them is no longer with us.  We may see them and understand they have an impact, but until the darkness comes, we never realize how much light they really shared.

Then my mind went to how the kids put out the light.  Not intentionally, but because they were interested in the fact that when you put the lid on the flame it would just go out.  I wonder how many of us that has happened to.  People, either intentionally or unintentionally get in the way of our source of life and we begin to suffocate until our light goes out.  Regardless of how strong we are, how bright we are, how long we seem like we could last put under the wrong conditions and we can fade quickly and stop producing light.

Then there comes the thoughts of relighting the candle.  I ignite the flame from the lighter, but I didn't create the fire.   I am just the one willing to use a tool to reignite the candle.  I have control over if the flame will reach the candle or not. I have to be willing to light the lighter, move across the room, and put the flame to the wick.  I wonder how often we are willing to do that in our every day lives.  We know we don't own the flame, we don't control the flame, but we can certainly be used as a tool to pass the flame.  We can also be used to stop a flame from being lit or re-lit.

Lastly, they flame burned all night. I woke up frequently to see it still burning.  It kept the room lit well and was a constant reminder.  It made me think of how many illustrations throughout the Bible that God uses light as an illustration to help us understand.  Light can be used in so many ways.  It can be ever so complicated, while allowing for so many simple thoughts and ideas to be shared.

I wonder.....

How do you see yourself in relation to a flame?  Are you a single flame in a world of darkness?  A flame that just keeps getting put out?  Are you one that is being used to light the flame in others?  Are you a flame that goes seemingly unnoticed because of the brighter lights around you? Perhaps, you just need to see the flame to remember? Maybe, it's none of these, but rather a totally different way of  associating yourself with the flame.

Press on...even when all seems lost.

Before you read this, I want to ask you to take a minute and ready Isaiah 6.

Personally I have always had a hard time reading Isaiah, because of prophesy that takes place within it.  I've never been one to really try and find "other" meanings behind a text.  If this is you, please bear with me and read it.

As I have spent a great deal of time this week reading over this passage and other passages in the Bible that reference it, I have come to a point of thinking perhaps many of us have been reading it wrong.  Perhaps there is something in this passage for us beyond just understanding who Isaiah was at this point in time and his prophesying of what was to come.

The first thing I notice in this passage is Isaiah has an encounter with God. He realizes and understands that he is unclean. I find this interesting because we are 5 chapters in and this encounter is about to change his whole life.  He has already been a prophet but he understands that parts of his life have not been acceptable to God and that he needs God to do a work is his life, so he can be cleaned.  

This is important, because I think that is the same for us.  It is so easy to get caught up in doing the right things that we try to hide from the fact that we have to have an encounter with God and that we have to willing to accept we are unclean.  We have to be willing to allow God to clean us. When we do, our lives will be changed. 

The second half of this passage has really made me think.  You can find commentary after commentary with people all saying different things about how God made people blind to who He is, while others say that the people were already blind and God obliged and let them stay that way.  

The more I read it, the more I wonder if the reality of the situation wasn't as much God telling Isaiah to keep people in the dark about who He is, but rather He was letting Isaiah know that he was to continue to share with people about who God is and what He was doing, but these people were spiritually blind and until they realized it and realized they needed God, they would never get it. They could continue to hear about the wonders of God and who He is, but would be lost because they had become so desensitized to the message.

Then Isaiah asks how long....I can only imagine what it is like to be told you need to preach to people and share with them about God while also being told they won't get it. It would seem like a total waste of time and energy.  God tells him to keep sharing until things are utterly ruined. For me, that pretty much sounds like God is saying keep preaching until things are no longer the way they are.  These people would have to loose everything before I want you to stop.  In other words, don't.

Lastly, the last verse sounds like hope.  God says even though it will all seem meaningless, it is not.  There will be a few that will get it. Those few I will heal and they will last even when all else is gone.

So what does this all mean for us.  

I think it means first that we have to realize our need for God and our need for a Savior.  We have to realize that we too may have become desensitized and may just be going through the motions.  We have to be willing to let God change us, cleans us, and be willing to take on whatever mission He calls us to.  Personally, I think this may be an ever going challenge for each of us.  I know time and time again in my life I find myself going through the motions and wanting to hide the fact that I am not perfect.  

Secondly it means that we have to be obedient to God when things seem hopeless.  God may give us something to work towards that we may never see the end result in.  We may spend the rest of our days doing what He has asked only to feel like it is in vein and that our life has been meaningless.  Yet, we must be obedient because we may never know what impact our obedience may have.

Lastly, through our healing, relationship with Christ and obedience God will make a difference.  We may not see the difference and perhaps it's not for us to see.  However, God wants us to know that regardless of what we see there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope in the end.  He is working out His plan and He has asked us to be a part.