The Candy Cane: A Sweet
Reminder of Our Lord
By Jim Day
With Christmas just a few days
away, I thought I would once again share this sermon with our readers. I first heard it presented by the former Pastor
of West County Assembly of God Church, John Wilson. It’s one of my favorite messages and well worth
sharing with your family, friends and everyone else you come in contact with
during the 
holidays
– or year round for that matter.
Holding up a candy cane, Pastor
Wilson started out by telling the audience that there are a lot of “fake candy
canes” on the market today. Fakes he
said come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, tastes and sizes. The size of the cane, according to Pastor Wilson,
doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. However,
the color, shape, flavor and number of stripes on the cane separate the real
thing from impostors.
So, what’s so special about
real candy canes? Let’s take a closer
look at this traditional Christmas treat and see.
As mentioned earlier,
authentic candy canes must be shaped like a shepherd’s crook or staff. Shepherds use their staffs to this day to
nudge straggling sheep, gather strays, ward off predators and separate their
goats from their sheep. Christ Jesus is
our Shepherd. He came to Earth to save
His lost sheep and one day, when we least expect it, He will return to gather
His flock and separate the goats from the sheep. His sheep will spend eternity with Him while
the goats will be forever separated from His joy and love and spend eternity in
pain and suffering. In addition to being
shaped like a shepherd’s crook, if you turn a candy cane upside down, it
becomes a “J” for Jesus.
The dominant color of a true
candy cane is white. White, of course,
has always stood for purity. Jesus was
the unblemished, pure and perfect sacrificial Lamb for our sins. The white background of the candy cane
represents His purity.
Spiraling around the full
length of an authentic candy cane are one wide and two or more narrow red
stripes. Red is the color of blood. The wide red stripe on the cane is there to
remind us of the blood which Jesus shed on Calvary’s cross for our sins. Without His precious blood, His sacrifice, we
would have no hope of redemption from our sins.
The thin stripes represent the
stripes from the scourging which Jesus suffered at the hands of the Roman
soldiers before He was crucified (Matthew
27:26). They also serve to remind us
that “…by His scourging (stripes) we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Authentic candy canes are
peppermint flavored. Peppermint is a
member of the Hyssop family of plants. Throughout
biblical times, hyssop was used in certain Hebraic purification rites. Hyssop branches were used to apply the lambs
blood to the lintel and door posts on the eve of Passover (Exodus 12:22), and it was a hyssop branch that was used to lift the
sponge, soaked with sour wine, to Jesus’ lips while He hung on the cross. (John 19:29)
Candy canes are always a great
gift to give or receive. Generally
speaking, no one eats a whole candy cane in one bite; they’re usually broken to
share with a friend or loved one. God
our Father in heaven gave us the greatest gift ever, His Son Jesus, Whose heart
was broken at Calvary. Our greatest
commission is to share Him with others (Matthew
28:19‑20). So, when you share your
candy cane with others, let it be as a reminder that we should be sharing the
love of our Lord with others as well.
The next time you give or receive
a candy cane, remember what it represents. Remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus the
Christ, our Lord and Savior. This Christmas
and in the coming New Year remember to share His love and message of salvation
with others. It’s the most important
gift you can give anyone!
