Thursday, April 21, 2011

One Small Light

There is a song that we sing almost every Christmas.  I think it's called "One Small Light", but the part I remember best goes like this:

One small light in a land of a thousand
One small dream of a Savior tonight,
One small hand reaching out to the star-light,
One small city of life.


One small light from the flame of a candle,
One small light from a city of might,
One small light from the stars in the endless night
One small light from a face.

Tonight was our Maundy Thursday service at church.  I've never been to a Maundy Thursday service before.  Back in Canada we always had Good Friday morning church.  Apparently that's weird.  I think people here are weird (especially since I have school tomorrow).  Anyhow, at the service tonight we had a huge cross with candles on it.  At the beginning of the service they were all lit.  As the service went on and we progressed (figuratively) towards Christ's death, the candles were extinguished. As I watched I was struck by how much difference the extinguishing of a single candle made.  Even with the last vestiges of daylight filtering through the windows (with Easter so late this year, it was still daylight during the service), the room got noticeably darker every time they extinguished a candle.  That's when the "One Small Candle" song started running through my head.
One small light can make such a difference.  A tiny light can brighten an entire room.  Turning out a light can bring darkness to an entire room.  When a single light bulb is burnt out in the kitchen in my parent's house the entire room feels darker and we quickly send someone out to the shop (usually Isaac or Papa) to get a replacement bulb.
One small light can make a huge difference.  As Christians we are called to be lights to the world.  Imagine what a difference we could make if we were all lights?  How much of a difference would that make in our world?
In 2 days, 3 hours and 30 minutes it will be Easter.  About 6-10 hours after that many of us will gather in churches to celebrate the gift of salvation that was started at Christmas, finalized at Easter, and continues to this day.  Unfortunately, many people have no idea why we celebrate beyond chocolate and eggs. That makes me very sad.  Be a light.  Share the joy of Easter with someone.

PS: I figured out later that the impact of a candle being extinguished was increased by the dimming of the lights...however, if it hadn't been daylight, the candle extinguishing would have been very noticeable. 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The song is One Small Light
By David Meece

One small child in a land of a thousand
One small dream of a Savior tonight
One small hand reaching out to the starlight
One small city of life
Oh.

Taryn
One king bringing his gold and his riches
One king ruling an army of might
One king kneeling with incense and candlelight
One King bringing us life
Oh.

See Him lying, a cradle beneath Him
See Him smiling in the stall
See His mother praising His Father
See His tiny eyelids fall

One small light from the flame of a candle
one small light from a city of might
one small light from the stars in the endless night
one small light from a face
Oh.

See the shepherds kneeling before Him
See the kings on bended knee
See His mother praising His Father
See the Blessed Infant sleep.

One small Child in a land of a thousand
One small dream in a people of might
One small hand reaching out to the starlight
One small Savior of Life
Oh