GOD’S LIGHTHOUSE

…A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden – Mathew 5:14

In the aeon before radar, satellite navigation and GPS systems, lighthouses were vital to protect ships from crashing onto rocks, shoals and shores. Their main purpose was to warn ships of dangerous sand bars and rocky shores that lie along the ship’s course. They were built solely to serve, never for their own sake. The lighthouse is one of the most vivid images of standing strong in a storm. Yet, lighthouses did not fire cannons to call attention to their shining; they simply shined!

There is another kind of lighthouse, a spiritual lighthouse. This is the Church of the Living God, the Christian community. Jesus used the imagery of light to describe our role in His Kingdom. After affirming Himself to be the True Light; he went on to say that we are the light of the world (Jh.9:5; Mt.5:14). The Master describes believers thus: “…A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden…” (Mt.5:14). We function much like a Lighthouse, both internally and externally.

Lighthouses were designed with an internal function of generating light. Early lighthouses used literal fire that had to be constantly fed and watched. Later, electric lights were used and ultimately laser lights had to be internally projected. Likewise, we as followers of Jesus project internal light, the outward expression of the inner life under the control of the Holy Spirit. The modern lighthouse is also an external reflector. With improvement and innovation, revolving lenses were developed to reflect the internally generated light further into the darkness. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, so we reflect the light of God’s Son – the Sun of Righteous – in a world of darkness (Mal.4:2).

When we believers in Christ worship and work together in unity, our fellowship of faith provides spiritual light in the world’s darkness (Phil.2:15-16). We are God’s lighthouse because Jesus lives in us and manifests through us. As His lighthouse, the Church provides spiritual direction to all who would hearken. We do these individually and through our churches. Like the bright shining beam of a lighthouse, God’s love and light reach out, piercing the darkness of the world’s stormy nights.