Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven.”
Candles smell so pretty and letting them glow in their nice glass jars fills the home with an inviting charm. I myself have gone through several candles and tried many smells to fill my home. I even burn them to the bottom of the jar at times getting every inch of the smell I can. My daughter has also taken to lighting candles in her room. She likes the sweet, yummy smells which always sets my sweet tooth craving.
The thing about glass jars is that they are fragile and if dropped from any distance they will break. The solid wax of course stays in place, but the jar not so much. I've dropped a candle or two in my years and it's very frustrating, especially if you just purchased it and then have to toss the entire thing.
This happened again recently when I pulled a candle out of the bag to light. Somehow, I didn't have a good grip and down it went. I grumbled as I picked it up. The rim was broken and there were a few sharp edges. Luckily it was mostly the rim that broke, but to me as I rolled my eyes, it was the waste a good candle.
My daughter’s boyfriend asked why I couldn't just set the jar inside one of my bigger candle jars that was almost empty instead of tossing the entire thing. Well sure, why didn't I think of that? I went and grabbed one of the jars and sure enough, it fit down in there enough that the jagged edges would be behind the glass of the bigger jar so as not to hurt anyone. I happily lit the candle, and it still sits on my counter ready to be used when I'm in the mood for that smell.
Although the candle will still light and serve its purpose, it's still ugly, broken, and doesn't look at all like it did when I bought it.
A few thoughts come to my mind as I think about this candle and the ones I've tossed away. How often do we do this in our own lives or with others? Things don't turn out the way we saw them happening. Plans fall through, dreams get shattered, goals hit the floor, and people break our hearts. In those moments we just want to throw the whole thing in the trash.
What about ourselves? We may feel ugly, broken, our pasts giving us a feeling that we aren't good enough to be used for our talents or have friends because we don't look like the shiny uncracked people.
Jesus says, “That's okay, you can still light, you have a purpose, and you still can bring a good fragrance to the world. When things fall apart you have something better coming. May not be pretty and in a new package or what you wanted or imagined but that's okay, I still love you and want you as a part of my family.”
My last thought is what I did with my broken candle. I set it in a bigger jar and it still lights and glows and shares it’s pretty fragrance but we won't get hurt by the broken edges because they are safe inside the bigger jar.
Jesus is our bigger jar. When we tuck ourselves in Him, we are safe and can't get hurt as easily, we are protected. Then while safe in that jar we can shine our light, serve our purpose and share the sweet love of Jesus to others. When we allow others to see our broken pieces, we can also be a light for Jesus because we can share how Jesus is helping us through the bumps and scrapes and how He picked us up and tucked us safely in His care and will do it for everyone.
Broken and all, let your light shine before others so they can learn of Jesus because they see Jesus in you.
I hope you have found time to join me as I have been reading through 1 Timothy. There is a lot we can find when we open scripture and even more we can learn different each year we read through the pages. Today I am having some computer difficulty with my downloads of the link with the study through the Bible so for today we are going to take a break and pick it up again on Monday. I hope you still take some time to read the Bible a today, maybe a story you've grown up with or try a new story you don't know much about. If you want a challenge find the story of the poisoned soup! Have a great day!
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