Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God. He is the One Who made all light. He does not change. No shadow is made by His turning. James 1:17 (New Living Translation, NLT)

We can see God in every good thing we encounter- if we look. Take the candy cane, for instance. Just by looking at its physical characteristics, we can be inspired and reminded of God’s goodness in sending Jesus.

The cane itself forms a J if you hold it a certain way- J for Jesus. Jesus’ name means The Lord is Salvation. So, when we see the candy cane, we can be reminded of Jesus and of our salvation through Him. Turn it the other way, and it forms a shepherd’s hook. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. And, we can also be reminded that Jesus came as the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world. So, the cane is a clear representation and symbol of our salvation in Christ.

Then, as we look at the red stripes, we are reminded of Jesus’ shed blood. He shed His blood for our salvation and to make us whole- spirit, soul, and body. As we consider the fact that the red is painted on the candy cane in stripes, we remember that by the stripes of Jesus, we are healed.

The white stripes reflect the fact that we are washed clean and made white as snow. We are now in right standing with God because we have been cleansed. White represents purity. Jesus’ blood was pure and undefiled and the shedding of His blood has made us pure.

The candy cane tastes sweet, reminding us that we can taste and see that the Lord is good. Life is much sweeter with Jesus. And the fact that He became Emmanuel, God with us, makes life all the sweeter. He came to lead us back to God, which is the sweetest thing of all. We can now have an intimate relationship with the God who is love.

So, this Christmas season, let’s be aware of the Christ in Christmas and choose to see God in all the traditions and symbols of the season, even if they seem to have secular roots. We celebrate Christ, the Anointed One, and choose to make everything reminders of Him.

****************************

For further study: Isaiah 53, Luke 2