Genre: RockArtist: Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Album: The Christmas Attic
Although this song appears on one of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas CDs, I don't think it has to be a Christmas song. It is about a dream that a man has one winter. In this dream, he sees the Christ Child. But the Child is not a babe. It is a young boy. The man asks, "Do your hands . . . still bleed? After all of this time, do you think there's still need?" This symbolizes the sacrifice that the Savior made when He gave His life for ours. His hands were nailed to a cross. In essence, the man is asking, "Does your sacrifice still apply? Does it work for me? Is it a current thing?" Well, the Child does not reply, but motions for the man to walk with him until they reach an evergreen forest. The man notes that "there were thousands of candles upon every tree! It was beautiful! But, there was one mystery." The only candle that was lit was in the hands of the Christ Child.
These candles, the man realizes, are the dreams of every person that has ever lived. But the dreams have been vanquished. All hope has been lost. All of us have sinned. All of us are fallen. But then the man marvels as the Christ Child "one by one, re-lit them all 'til each dream was awakened." Then, after re-kindling these dreams, the Christ Child turns to the man and tells him of all the dreams that He has, and all the things that might be. It is His dream that our hope stays alive in Him and that we all return to Heaven. After this, the man awakens, but hopes that sometime in his life he might be able to dream this dream again.
I just love the imagery of this song. It is true that our ultimate dreams are only possible in and through Jesus Christ. He is the Light and Life of the World. I have burnt out my candle so many times, but when I turn to Him in full sincerity of heart, with real intent, He is more than willing to re-light my candle and guide me back to my heavenly home. Although His hands do not literally bleed anymore, He has engraven me upon the palms of His hands. His sacrifice does still matter and it does still have power to save me. This song is so soothing to me. I love to listen to it, especially before I go to sleep. Like the man in the dream, I have dreamt of the Savior many times. But I long for the day when seeing Him will no longer be a dream, but an ever-present reality.
