|
BE
A
LIGHTHOUSE
FOR
GOD
by
Mariane
Holbrook
Cape
Hatteras,
known
as
“America’s
lighthouse”
is
our
tallest
lighthouse
at
198
feet.
Its
beacon
light
can
be
seen
for
20
miles
out
at
sea.
It
was
first
built
in
1802
on
the
Outer
Banks
of
North
Carolina
to
warn
ships
of
treacherous
Diamond
Shoals,
a
12-mile
sandbar
just
offshore
that
caused
many
devastating
shipwrecks
over
the
years.
It
has
become
one
of
America’s
favorite
tourist
attractions
and
a
special
favorite
of
school
children
who
eagerly
climb
its
268
steps
for
a
better
view
of
the
Atlantic.
It
is
symbolic
of
everything
that
is
good
and
enduring
in
America.
Christians
have
often
been
compared
favorably
to
lighthouses
for
several
compelling
reasons,
most
notably
because
of
the
words
of
Jesus
Himself:
“Ye
are
the
light
of
the
world,”
(Matthew
5:14)
and
“Let
your
light
so
shine
before
men,
that
they
may
see
your
good
works,
and
glorify
your
Father
which
is
in
heaven”
(Matthew
5:16)
Few
things
draw
as
much
interest
or
pride
as
the
stately,
endurable
and
majestic
lighthouses
which
dot
our
shorelines.
Lighthouses
are
there
for
one
reason:
to
warn
ships
of
danger
and
point
them
toward
a
safe
place.
They
cannot
themselves
save
ships
if
they
begin
to
founder.
They
have
no
power
of
their
own.
They
can
only
provide
light
in
the
darkness
of
night
and
give
comfort
and
hope
to
the
fearful.
For
them,
the
blacker
the
night,
the
brighter
the
light.
And
so
it
is
with
God’s
children.
We
cannot
of
ourselves
save
anyone
from
an
eternity
apart
from
God.
We
can
only
point
them
to
Christ,
to
His
safe
haven,
and
warn
them
of
the
certain
dangers
ahead
they
will
surely
face
without
Him.
For
many,
we
provide
the
only
light
in
the
darkness
of
their
lives
they
will
ever
see,
a
very
sobering
thought
that
drives
committed
Christians
continually
to
their
knees
for
God’s
strength
to
empower
them.
Lighthouses
are
carefully
designed,
constructed
and
made
ready
to
do
their
work
in
the
bitterest,
harshest
conditions,
confident
that
their
structure
is
strong
and
will
not
fail
during
the
severest
storms.
As
Christians,
we
through
study
and
preparation,
work
in
some
of
the
hardest
places
both
at
home
and
abroad
to
do
the
work
to
which
God
has
called
us.
He
equips
His
children,
He
provides
His
strength
through
a
good
foundation
in
His
Word
and
He
wraps
them
in
the
protective
layers
of
His
love
to
withstand
any
assault.
Then
He
covers
them
with
the
whole
armor
of
God.
Lighthouses
are
there
for
the
duration.
They
can
be
counted
on
by
the
ships
at
sea
to
always
be
at
their
post
without
excuse,
providing
that
necessary
and
comforting
light
for
which
they
were
created.
Christians
as
lighthouses
must
exhibit
that
same
dependability,
not
changing
the
direction
of
their
beacon
lights
at
a
whim,
not
giving
inconsistent
lighting
that
shines
brightly
some
nights
but
which
is
dimmed
the
next,
always
in
place
for
God
to
provide
through
their
testimonies
hope
and
help
to
the
hurting,
the
desperate,
the
grieving
and
lost.
Lighthouses
stand
a
lonely
vigil.
Often
there
is
nothing
else
around,
their
beacon
light
high
off
the
ground,
a
quiet
night
sentry
to
the
ships
at
sea
without
regard
for
their
own
safety
or
pleasure.
Christians
similarly
are
often
called
by
God
to
the
loneliest
mission
station
in
undeveloped
countries,
to
a
small
mountain
church,
which
gives
little
support
or
encouragement,
or
to
an
inner-city
ministry,
which,
though
surrounded
by
the
madding
crowd,
gives
new
depth
and
definition
to
the
word
“lonely”
But
these
brave
workers
maintain
their
vigil,
focused
on
their
raison
d’etre,
purposing
in
their
hearts
to
be
faithful
to
their
calling.
And
finally,
lighthouses
brave
the
bitterest
storms
on
earth
when
the
thrashing
winds
of
hurricanes
threaten
their
foundations,
flood
their
entries,
beat
with
blinding
rain
against
their
beacon
lights,
making
every
attempt
to
render
the
lighthouse
helpless,
collapsing
into
a
pile
of
useless
rubble.
Yet,
they
stand.
Bruised
but
not
laid
barren,
lightly
damaged
but
not
destroyed.
So
it
is
with
children
of
God,
who
are
not
exempt
from
the
fierce
winds
of
this
world,
the
overwhelming
floods
that
decimate
their
homes
but
never
their
hearts.
Still,
they
stand,
these
sturdy,
committed,
human
lighthouses,
beaten
but
not
broken,
bearing
the
battle
scars
which
will
one
day
be
turned
into
crowns.
Those
missionaries
who
suffered
for
Christ
in
Japanese
concentration
camps,
those
who
were
beheaded
by
the
Viet
Cong,
those
who
were
gunned
down
or
tortured
in
Indonesia,
as
well
as
the
devoted
husband
who
lovingly
ministered
to
his
ailing
wife
for
years
until
God
called
her
home
or
the
godly
mother
who
visited
her
incarcerated
son
for
years
for
a
heinous
crime
he
committed,
these
were
all
keepers
of
the
Light
in
the
most
devastating
storms
of
life.
These
are
they
of
whom
God
will
one
day
declare
before
the
throngs
of
heaven,
“Well
done,
thou
good
and
faithful
servant….
Enter
thou
into
the
joy
of
the
Lord.”
(Matthew
25:21)
|
