Look at the candy cane, what do you see? Stripes that are red, like the blood shed for me. White is for my savior, who's sinless and pure. "J" is for Jesus My Lord, that's for sure! Turn it around, and a staff you will see. Jesus my shepherd, was born for me.
Many years ago, a candy maker wanted to make a candy at Christmas time that would serve as a witness to his Christain faith. He wanted to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus. He began with a stick of pure white hard candy; white to symbolize the Virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus; hard to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the church; firmness to represent the promise of God.
The candy maker made the candy in a shape of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. He thought it could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd, with which he reached down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs, who, like all sheep, have gone astray.
Thinking 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 red 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 a candy cane, a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the true meaning is is still there for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
