LOOK TO THE LIGHTHOUSE
Being out on the open sea at night is such an eerie experience. Without light, it is pitch black. Under such an expanse of darkness, it is easy to feel so small and vulnerable.
On a cruise in the South Pacific, around the Polynesian Islands, I experienced, first hand just how dark things were on the sea at night. Looking up into the night sky from my balcony and finding no starry hosts to bring light, no moon shining bright to allow me to see the horizon, I was struck at how unsettling the darkness was. I remember whispering to myself, “I hope the captain of this ship can see where to go!”
A lighthouse is built to guide ships around rock formations; to bring them safely into port when darkness covers the waters. Without the light of the lighthouse, ships would crash into the rocks and sink, leaving those on board to face death by drowning.
One cannot help but think of these things when out on the sea at night! As those thoughts come, it might lead to anxiety, but then when you remember that Jesus is our lighthouse, the rough seas that form in the darkness are quickly calmed. In Isaiah 60:3 we are told that “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Just a few verses before this it says, “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” Oh, if this isn’t a picture of the best “Lighthouse!” Isaiah 9:2 prophesied about “those who walked in darkness seeing a great light” and then it was fulfilled in Matthew 4:16 as Jesus began his earthly ministry. The verse in its whole reads, “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Can you hear it? Those living in darkness and entering the shadow of death – ships at night approaching the jagged rocks, but suddenly there is a great light that appears before them lighting the way; steering them away from certain death; perishing forever.
Today, lighthouses still stand to guide ships safely, but Jesus sends his light out, not in a stationary structure on a physical rock formation, but in his chosen people. In that Isaiah 60:3 verse, we see that Jesus actually gives us his light to shine, to be a lighthouse for people in his name. In verse 1 of Isaiah 60, it says to us, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.” When Isaiah wrote this, it was a wake-up call to Jerusalem, that God’s glory was about to shine on them. It was a call to look to the “not yet” and rejoice, to have hope in the Light that will guide Israel’s sons and daughters home. That same light is the light we carry; it is not our own, but it is the glory of God. Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” The light we are given to shine has purpose!
Oh, my friend! Arise and shine! Do not stifle or hide the light God has given you. Be the lighthouse for someone who is walking in darkness toward the jagged rocks! Shining the light God gave you can help guide someone into the port of eternal life in paradise instead of an eternity in the abyss of sorrow. Remember, you will not shine alone, because God will always be your power source!