DIVINE LIGHTHOUSES (2)

“And are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a LIGHT to those who are in darkness” – Romans 2:19

Like Israel of old and the Lord Jesus Christ, Believers are ordained to be DIVINE LIGHTHOUSES: “And are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a LIGHT to those who are in darkness” (Rom.2:19). Scriptures are consistent on this truth. Isaiah 49:6b echoed it: “I will also give You as a LIGHT to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’” Luke 2:32 related it to the Lord Jesus: “A LIGHT to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Acts 13:47 buttressed the same: “For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a LIGHT for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

Paul, in Romans 2, addressed a representative Jewish person, showing all the benefits the Jew had obtained by virtue of receiving the law from God. This person knew God's will and therefore could evaluate everything to see what was “excellent,” and what was not (vv.17-18). Paul then added that this person could serve as a guide to the blind and a light to those in darkness. That is, God gave His law only to Israel; hence they had the opportunity to show everyone else what was true and who God was. They possessed the light of God's truth that others needed. Paul, however, was leading all of this narrative to a negative inference: If all these things were true for Jewish people, why didn’t they live according to the law? Why didn’t they fulfil their purpose of being Divine Lighthouses to the world?

The’ Jews were God’s chosen people: “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth” (Dt.7:6). If His chosen people could fall short of His standards of perfection, then all people needed to be saved by grace through faith, apart from works. Believers are also now God’s chosen people: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into HIS Marvellous Light” (1Pet.2:9). Believers as Jews inwardly, are called to be lighthouses (v.29).

Lighthouses internally generate light. Early ones used literal fire that had to be constantly fed and watched. Then came electric lights, and ultimately, internally projected laser lights. Similarly, followers of Jesus project internal light, outwardly expressing the inner life under the control of the Holy Spirit. The modern lighthouse is also an external reflector. With innovation, revolving lenses reflect internally generated light. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, so we reflect the light of God’s Son – “the Sun of Righteousness” – in a dark world (Mal.4:2).