A while back, we went on a day trip to the Mercer Caverns near Murphys, California. It was a hot summer day on the outside, but as we entered, the caverns, it became a nice cool, comfortable 55°. We walked along, some well-traveled pathways, through some more narrow passageways, and down several long flights of stairs. At one point our tour guide stopped the group, there were about a dozen of us, and shared some information about the caverns. To give us an idea of what it was really like down in the caverns she reached over and flipped a switch turning off all the lights. I hadn’t really noticed the lights in the caverns until she turned them off. Suddenly we were in the middle of the darkest darkness I’ve ever known in my life. You literally could not see your hand in front of your face, even if it was touching your nose. It didn’t take long for people to become uncomfortable and for a couple of kids in the group to become scared. Fortunately, that was about the time that our guide lit a candle. She pointed out the difference a single candle could make in such a great darkness.
That brings back memories of when I was little, and we lived in the mountains in a cabin without electricity. Sometimes at night when it was really dark, my dad would light a little candle and put it on a pie tin in our bedroom. That little bit of light made all the difference. It made us feel comfortable and safe.
Oh, and now to the Advent candles. Isaiah 9:2 has a clue, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” Who is this light? In John 8:12 Jesus says “l am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
So where did this light, this candle come from? “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16