lighting the flame

Have you ever tried lighting a candle multiple times only to have the flame go out almost immediately? It's frustrating, right?

The other day I was lighting a candle and the wick would light but then it would almost immediately go out. It seemed odd considering everything about the wick looked fine. It looked like it should be able to catch and hold the flame with no problem at all.

After a couple of times seeing the same result, I decided to try a different approach. After all...

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result."

The third time I tried lighting the wick right at the base where it was rooted into the wax.

vanilla bean soy candle. target.

What do you know? The wick lit up and held the flame. For hours this time until I blew it out.

I was thinking that's how our lives are. How our relationship with Christ is.

From the outside we may look fine, but are we able to catch fire and hold a flame? Or are we constantly trying to focus on lighting a flame without getting to the root of our being?



We can look at our actions, we can look at our personalities, and we can recognize things we want to change. We can try to treat the problem. We can try to "be better people" all day long. But if we don't get to the source, get to the root of our hearts, we are just trying to light a flame that will go out quickly.

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit." Matthew 12:33

If we want to see great change in our lives, lasting change in our lives, we have to start with Christ. He is the root of our being. He can change your heart from the inside out, from the root up to the fruit. From the base of the wick to the flame.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8