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"A CANDY MAKER’S WITNESS"
I was given this story a while back, concerning a long and fast Christmas
tradition. I have no idea of its origin or its factualness. It was passed on to me as a factual
account, and so, I pass it on to you to
decide for yourselves if it is so, or not.
A candy maker in Indiana, a Christian wanted to make a candy treat that would stand as a
witness as to the real and true meaning of Christmas. So, he set out at his task and created
the Christmas candy cane. He had incorporated several ideas and symbols for the birth,
ministry and death of Jesus Christ in his confection.
He began with a stick of pure, white, hard candy; White to symbolize the virgin
birth and the sinless nature of Jesus. The hardness of the candy is to symbolize
the solid rock upon which His church stands and endures and for the firmness of
the sure promises of God.
The candy maker shaped his concoction in the form of a “J” - to represent the precious name
of “JESUS” (which means “SAVIOR”) to remind us that He came to earth, into the world
of men to be our Savior from sin and grant everlasting life. Its shape is also reminiscent of
a shepherd’s crook, again, to remind us that He is the Good Shepherd Who “giveth His life for
His sheep”. As the Shepherd He reaches down into ditches of the world to lift out the
fallen lambs, who, like all sheep, have gone astray.
Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker streaked it with
red stripes, spiraling
over its entire length. He used three small stripes to show
the stripes of the LORD’S
scourging, for “by His stripes are we healed” of our
sin through faith in Him. The large stripe
was set to represent the blood He shed as He hung on the cross, the sacrifice for the sin of
mankind, crucified to offer the promise of eternal life.
Unfortunately, the candy became popular apart from the reasons for its conception, as is
Jesus the babe born in Bethlehem. Having became known as a “candy cane”, it was
relegated to position of being a meaningless trapping and a decoration, or, a treat commonly seen and
enjoyed at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who “have eyes to see
and ears to hear what the Spirit sayeth.”
Along with the candy maker of all those years ago, I pray that this symbol will again be
used as a witness to the wonder of Jesus and His great love, manifested in His coming to
earth as a baby in a manger and His pure, selfless love that led Him to the cross to provide
sweet redemption from sin and hell. Perhaps, it will yet become a tool of witness for the
Lord Jesus Christ and His love. Perhaps, by you.
Author: Unknown;
Expanded and Reprinted by C. David Coyle
God bless you and have a wonderful, Christ-filled Christmas this year!!
CHRISTMAS, 1998.
Revised: December 25, 2003
by Rev. C. D. Coyle
E-mail me here.
