A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White symbolizes the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus; and hard represents the Solid Rock, the foundation of the church and firmness of the promises of God.

The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus Who came to earth as our Savior. The shape could also stand for the staff of the Good Shepherd with which He reaches down to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we are healed. The large stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Unfortunately, the candy became known as the candy cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. I pray that this symbol will again be used to witness to the wonder of Jesus and His great love that came at Christmas and remains the ultimate, dominant force in the universe today.