I am an American. More specifically, I am an American woman. From
that point of reference, one can understand my appreciation and love for
scented candles. In America we have shops dedicated to selling candles scented
with fragrances to suit personal preferences, to evoke desired moods, and to
denote seasons of the year. It is not unusual to enter an American home and be
greeted by the scent of a candle signaling welcome and creating an atmosphere
of warmth.
I am currently an American woman living in Africa. Wanting to
create the same welcome and warmth in my home in Africa as I do in America, I
still appreciate and love scented candles. Recently I taught a concentrated
course for two Bible school students in my home. Each day before they arrived, I
lit a scented candle and left it burning on my living room coffee table. Each
day I enjoyed its aroma and felt that I was making my guests feel the welcome
and warmth of my home.
On the last day of class, one of the students said that he wanted
to ask me a question on behalf of himself and his classmate. They both wondered
why I had a candle lit every day that they came for class. These students are Africans.
In Africa candles are usually not scented, and their purpose is not to provide fragrance
or evoke emotion. Their purpose is to provide light when it is dark. These
young men had not even realized that the candle was scented. It had not served
to make them feel welcomed or warm. Instead, it had served only to make them
curious about my actions.
Consider that you live in a home that does not have electricity.
By day, there is sunlight, but at night there is only darkness. To dispel that
darkness you need a light of some sort, typically a candle or a fire. From this
point of reference, it seemed like such a waste to light a perfectly good
candle in the middle of the day, when it would be most beneficial to burn at
night.
I began to liken this example to the present-day church. I began to ponder whether or not our methods of doing church are more about making people feel warm and welcome rather than dispelling the darkness of sin in their lives. A candle was originally created to provide light. The church was originally created for the same purpose. Jesus spoke to His disciples about this ight on more than one occasion:
- John 8:12, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."
- Acts 13:47, "For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I have placed you as a light….that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth.'"
- Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world……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.”
There may be nothing wrong with altering our means of presentation - unless we forget our real purpose of leading others in the light. There may be nothing wrong with adding programs and events - unless we expend so much of our time and energies on these things that we forget our real purpose of dispelling the darkness. Changes in methods may create the feelings of welcome and warmth we desire, or they may go totally unnoticed by those who are in need of light rather than atmosphere.
I am not attempting to be critical of the church but, rather, to be introspective and honest about our reason for operating as we do. I am not suggesting that we do away with modern approaches to ministry any more than I am suggesting that we do away with scented candles. Both offer attributes that enhance their usefulness. But I am desiring that the church re-examine its priorities and remain focused and committed to the original intent for which it was created and to accomplish God’s purpose of being light and dispelling darkness until He returns.
Why is your candle burning?
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