The wood-wick candles at Target are my favorite. Amber + Cedar is my preferred scent. I burn the candles down until they go out on their own. The candle I am lighting tonight looks about finished. When I strike the match and touch the flame to the wick, it burns dimly low in the jar. There is a faint crackle sound from the wood-wick. Ahh, a comforting sound. With cautious steps I carry the candle to the side table next to my cozy reading chair.

After reading ten minutes, there is a glow that appears out of the corner of my right eye. The dim flame of the candle has grown in height and stature. The wax pulls away from the edge of the glass jar to draw in towards the flame. I sense almost a willingness from the wax to fold into the center of the jar to be closer to the flame. The presence of the flame as it builds stronger and spreads heat, transforms the wax into a pool of liquid. Before the flame was stoked, the wax appeared solid and firm but quickly the wax melts under the heat of the flame. The longer the flame burns the wax into a liquid pool, the stronger the scent of the candle fills the room. The wax can hold the sweetest aroma (Amber + Cedar, Teakwood, Balsam Fir), but without the flame present, the aroma is limited. It is the work of the flame that changes everything.  The candle really shines and the aroma spreads when the flame is actively working. As bedtime draws near, I blow out the flame and then notice the pool of liquid wax in the jar. It is evidence of progress between the flame and the wax. The journey they have been on together. Both will show up next time to work together to fill the room with the sweetest aroma.

It sounds silly, but can I confess to you something? Jealously stirred in my heart listening to the crackle of the candle and seeing the wax pooling in the jar. Why? In the last year, my apathetic faith resembled a candle you stumble across in the back of a closet melted halfway down but now collects dust in the closet. My life felt like solid wax that holds a sweet aroma, but pulls away from the flame. When I am not willing to draw in towards God with an obedient heart, I miss out on spreading the sweet aroma of God’s love, redemption, and grace in my life with others around me. The good news of hope is that Jesus, the Son of God, has rekindled the flame in my life through learning more about his life on earth, his character, and his willing act of love on the cross for me. My flame was dimly low, but each day the flame grows in height and stature. I am melting in a beautiful way.

This visual of the wood-wick candle from Target reminds me often of the perfect love of Jesus. On a Saturday night as an Amber + Cedar wood-wick candle burns over the course of three hours, friends fill my home for good food, laughter, and deepened community. As the sweet aroma fills my house, it reminds me what the life of a daughter redeemed by Jesus is capable of when she willingly leans into the flame that changes everything.

The next time my eyes notice a candle burning, my mind will process the scene in a whole new way. My eyes will recognize the willingness of the wax, the strong consistent burn of the flame, and as I breathe in the aroma my heart will melt in the goodness of God.

What about you?