Monday, December 17, 2007

The Christmas Candle

The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado

This nice little novella by Lucado is a tale about a small community in Victorian rural England. Every 25 years just before Christmas an amazing event occurs where for several generations past an angel appears in a candlemaker's shop touches a candle which lights then is extinguished after briefly lighting up. The first candlemaker who encountered this was terrified and astonished but after giving the candle to a needy person and instructing her to pray when lighting the candle the woman's prayer for financial provision was miraculously answered. Other such miracles occurred every quarter century.

Due to a mix up when the angel visits in the year of the story, the candlemaker isn't sure which candle is "the one" and has to give out multiple candles to various people in need. The result is people engaging in prayer and consequently receiving God's blessing though they didn't actually receive the miracle candle. It is a good lesson for the community in remembering the ultimate source of power and not to worship the miracle candle.

As mentioned, this is a nice little story which can be read in one sitting and has a feeling to it similar to Lucado's children's story "You Are Special." It's definitely not heavy on biblical theology and can focus a bit much on the importance of the angel rather than Christ as the reason for the season but would be fun to read as a bed time story to a child.

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