Last Saturday at 8:30pm was Earth Hour. My Dad proposed turning all the lights on and flashing them on and off for an hour. :P Our electricity comes from a hydro dam, so really it probably produces more pollution to burn a candle than a light bulb (although I suppose you'd have to take disposal and production of light bulbs into account). To be honest, I think the whole "green" movement is slightly ridiculous and Global Warming is a huge hoax. :P That being said, I do believe in being good stewards of our planet. I love candlelight though, so I convinced my family to turn the lights off for the evening. I used a candle to light the way to bed that night, and in the darkness of the room, it illuminated the words of scripture as I read my Bible and journaled. Not relying on electricity gives you a whole new appreciation for light - and it set me to musing about light and dark.
Not only are candles beautiful, but they happen to be pretty effective at chasing away the darkness. Without electricity, the darkness becomes that much more tangible, and the light becomes that much more appreciated. I couldn't help but think of scriptural references to light... like Jesus saying in John 8:12, "I am the Light of the world." Or Him saying to us, His followers, that we are also the "light of the world." (Matt 5:15) He followed the proclamation with this exhortation: "A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
I think sometimes we forget the depth of the darkness of the world, because our lamp is hidden under a bowl. I contemplated my small candle by my bedside and saw that the pool of light was produced by a small flame - a tiny fire consuming the wick. The Holy Spirit is compared with fire in the New Testament. We are told, "do not quench the Spirit." If we do that, we will no longer be light, because He is the fire within us that is the light source... Anyways, those were just some musings I had about my little candle. :)
I think sometimes we forget the depth of the darkness of the world, because our lamp is hidden under a bowl. I contemplated my small candle by my bedside and saw that the pool of light was produced by a small flame - a tiny fire consuming the wick. The Holy Spirit is compared with fire in the New Testament. We are told, "do not quench the Spirit." If we do that, we will no longer be light, because He is the fire within us that is the light source... Anyways, those were just some musings I had about my little candle. :)
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