One of the strongest images of standing strong in a storm is the lighthouse. In the era before radar, satellite navigation and GPS systems, lighthouses were vital to protect ships from crashing onto rocks, shoals and shores. Building lighthouses can be considered one of man’s most noble endeavors. Since the beginning of seafaring, families and friends have lit bonfires at night to guide sailors home.
George Bernard Shaw said, “I can think of no other edifice constructed by man as altruistic as a lighthouse. They were built only to serve.”
And evangelist D.L. Moody commented, “Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining—they just shine.”
Jesus used this imagery of light to describe our role in His kingdom. We are the light of the world, He said, after claiming Himself to be the true light. Therefore we function much like a lighthouse, both internally and externally.
The first design for a lighthouse is the internal function of generating light. Early lighthouses used a literal fire that had to be constantly fed and watched. Later electric lights were utilized and ultimately laser lights. But this light still has to be internally projected.
So we too as followers of Jesus project internal light, the outer expression of the inner life under the control of the Holy Spirit.
The other aspect of a modern lighthouse is that it also is an external reflector. Over the years of improvements, revolving lenses have been developed to reflect that internally generated light further into the darkness.
As the moon reflects the light of the sun, so we reflect the light of the Son in a world of darkness.
And finally, lighthouses remind us of God’s love. Like the bright shining beam of a lighthouse, His love reaches out…piercing through the darkness of any storm.
