There were one a couple of young men in a small village, back in the “old country”, who liked to compete.

One day they were discussing fire and its properties. These were young men who lived before electricity was around, so they were well acquainted with fire in their everyday lives. On this particular day the young men knew it was a new moon, and a heavy overcast threatened to block out even starlight, so the night was going to be especially dark.

One man bet the other he couldn’t spend the night alone on top of a nearby hill overlooking the village, without any light. A “dare” if you will. The other replied he could, and after determining the loser was to provide a meal for the other off he trudged to wait out the oncoming day’s light to claim his prize.

It was indeed a very dark night, and as he watched his village spread below one by one all the fireplace light flickering in each window went out – except for a lone candle in one high window. Realizing it was his friends house and being encouraged knowing his friend was thinking of him, he considered the light during his long lonely cold vigil.

In the morning, stiff but elated at the promise of a free meal the fellow trudged down the hillside to claim his prize. His friend met him there, and asked him if he had seen the candle. “Indeed I did”, the young man claimed, “and it was kind of you to think enough of me to put it there.” “But”, said the young man who’d stayed in the village, “you lost your bet. You did not spend the night on the hillside without any light. You had that candle to help you.” Annoyed but a man of his word, the young man who’d spent the long night on the hilltop agreed to make the meal for his friend.

That afternoon when they got together to eat, the “clever” fellow went on and on about how smart he was to win this bet. As he grew hungry, he asked if the dinner was almost ready. The loser went to his kitchen and came back to report it was close but not yet done. Quite some time went by and he checked again… and again… and again. Every time he returned to say it was not yet done. Finally exasperated the “winner” went to see his dinner, and found it in a pot of cold water hanging in the fireplace – over a candle. “You see”, explained the cook of the raw, hard potatoes and soggy meat, “since you thought a candle was enough to light my way all that far off, surely by the same reasoning a candle will make enough heat to cook your dinner!”

Consider the story of the two young men! Is our service to God hardly more than a spark? Sure, we attend services on Sunday morning. We have “lit our candle” so to speak. Yet is that all the light we shine in this long, dark week? How will we light the way for others, truly, unless we carry the light about and bring it to where it is needed? Do we think that others will just look at our lives and see God in us, and suppose that is sufficient?

Would we have God reward us – nourish us – to the same measure we invest in him? Do we really expect he will save us from destruction merely by speaking his name, or do we with maturity understand the investment of obedience to his will? There is firewood – opportunity! – all around us. Will we settle for a little candle that could be blown out or a roaring fire that will get our food prepared and shared in no time at all? Think about it.

Randy