The Comfort of the Lighthouse

Published 5:14 pm Friday, October 21, 2022

 Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to see my grandmother who lives there.  While I was there, I had the privilege of seeing four famous lighthouses: Currituck, Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras, and Ocracoke. They are breathtaking to see. I climbed to the top of Currituck and the view from the top was endless. I assumed that since we have modern technologies that the only use of the lighthouses was for historical monuments, however, I was wrong. The United States Coast Guard maintains all the lens and lights, and they operate each night. I asked a park ranger why they were still needed and he said, “Most ships and boats, even the smallest boats these days, have GPS of some sort, VHF radio and other electronics, but all that stuff can fail. You cannot trust your gauges and dials always.  It is a comfort for a captain of a ship and to look over his shoulder and see the lighthouse. He finds comfort in knowing his exact location.” The lighthouses are a sure way to know exactly where you are and in which direction you need to be headed. Those lighthouses have comforted many sailors in the dark of night when storms were raging.

    Lighthouses and beacons are towers with bright lights and fog horns located at important or dangerous locations. They can be found on rocky cliffs or sandy shoals on land, on wave-swept reefs in the sea, and at entrances to harbors and bays. They serve to warn mariners of dangerous shallows and perilous rocky coasts, and they help guide vessels safely into and out of harbors. The messages of these long-trusted aids to navigation are simple: either STAY AWAY, DANGER, BEWARE or COME THIS WAY! Jesus is definitely my lighthouse, and He has kept me safe many times in a dangerous and sin-filled world. Look at these following passages of scripture: John 8:12, “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 9:5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus even calls the Spirit of God the comforter. The light is a comfort and we live in a dark world. Once Jesus ascended to his Father, we are to be the light. His Spirit resides in each of those who have a relationship with Jesus!

These scriptures tell command us to be the light: Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Ephesians 5:8, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” We are to be lighthouses for those around us. Does your life bring comfort to those around you? Do you guide others in the right direction? Does your light shine in the midst of the darkness? Do people feel better after speaking or being with you? These are just a few of questions I have been asking myself. I want to be a lighthouse! We speak light and life or darkness and death. I want my words and actions to encourage those around me, and help those in darkness to see the right way to go. The modern-day Church of Christ has been given the perfect opportunity to be a light to a dark world. The smallest light can make a great difference and bring comfort in complete darkness. Choose today to be a lighthouse and bring comfort to those around you.

(Brandon Young is pastor of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, Hampton)