A Lighthouse

"A lighthouse doesn't save the ships; it doesn't go out and rescue them, it's just this pillar that helps to guide people home"
- Lea Michele

A lighthouse is a tower or a building designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and used as a navigational aid for sailors at sea or on inland waterways.
For sailors navigating the water ways, Lighthouses helps them identify:
#Dangerous coastlines
#Hazardous shoals 
#Reefs
#Safe entries to harbors
#And also assists in aerial navigation

As I studied about lighthouses, I discovered something interesting, regardless of how big or tall as a light house is, it is powered by a  simple "lamp", in the pre-modern era, the  lamps were fueled with Whale oil and kerosene but in recent times, most lamps are powered by electricity or gas.

I read the quote from Lea Michele  (Racheal Berry of "Glee") and I remembered a portion of scripture. The scripture likened Christians to lights and cities set hills. Do you know that  before the development of proper sea ports, sailors were guided by fires built on hilltops? Since raising the fire would improve the visibility, placing the fire on an elevated platform became a practice that led to the development of the lighthouse.

Dear Christian, do you know that to quite a number of people you are like a light house? You may not know it, you may not feel like a "Super-Christian" but...remember that friend that called you after she had an overdose of drugs and thought she would die? Remember that you were the first person your sister called after she had an abortion and she felt like God hated her? Remember how a colleague wept uncontrollable in the bathroom after telling you that he was confused about his sexuality and he couldn't tell anybody else?

When you profess Christ openly, people take note of you and in a weirdly funny way, they look up to you, they may make fun of your beliefs and values but trust me, they look up to you. An assignment every Christian has, is to be a light WHEREVER we find ourselves. Yes, it might be inappropriate to talk about our religious beliefs in some places but we can stand for integrity, we can show kindness, we can speak words of encouragement to people. I have never been to a place where such things are inappropriate.

Remember that the source of light for a light house is a simple "lamp"? However, there is this thing called a lens, it magnifies the light from the lamp and makes it visible to Sailors at a far distance. We are humans with flaws, how can we stand out? We have the Holy-Spirit (our lens) he magnifies whatever effort we put (no matter how little) at standing out and being lights. Like Lea said, lighthouses don't necessarily save ships or Sailors as the case may be, they are just pillars that guide people home, home to Jesus.

One last thing, have you ever noticed that a lighthouse stands alone? Or have you ever seen a cluster or Lighthouses? It might get lonely being a Christian, but I'd rather hear God say "Weldone my good and faithful servant" than have a bunch of friends that will takeep me away from Jesus.

I pray this meets you where you are and that you have the strength to stand for God no matter the consequences. 

Matt 5:14 "YOU are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden"


Love and Light,
xoxo.