#81a Lighthouse(26mar06)

‘He has set me in dark places like the dead of long ago’
Lamentations 3:6

In my impressionable years, I was quite regaled by the evergreen stories of Enid Blyton. Mysteries and adventures in distant old Mother England(at least for the old colonials) kept one fairly glued to the printed matter. Inevitably, the coasts, shipwrecks and lighthouses are often key props used as dear Enid weaved a beautiful tapestry for hungry minds.

‘My mouth will speak of wisdom; and the meditation from my heart will give understanding’
Psalm 49:3

The only lighthouse I have ever been to was the one down the south-western coast of Western Australia. It was pretty ramrod, almost stiff, located in Timbuktu-like(in Mali) locations, and often buffeted by strong winds and the salty froths of the ocean. To add insult to its less than lofty status in life, the sea-gulls and other bird-brained denizens often choose to lay their roost at top.

‘He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not Iight’
Lamentations 3:2

Believers of God often see the light of His grace in the darkness of their lives.
With His grace, as we start to follow Jesus Christ, our guiding light who helped those who follow Him, to navigate through the swathe of darkness of the sinful world.
Dark Africa coined by the famous Victorian explorer and missionary, Dr David Livingstone(discover of the Great Victoria falls), to describe both the raw physical landscape as well as the animistic practices of the people he encountered in Africa, looks decidedly whitewashed compared to our present world.

‘The Lord is good to those who wait for Him’
Lamentations 3:25

Truly, as followers of Christ, we are asked to be like Him. We are not the perfect light, but by the way we lived, we can be the lighthouse that the Grace of God will shine His light upon, to be a beacon in the darkness enveloping the world.

Ships today have modern navigational equipment like radar. Lighthouses are albatrosses today, whose true value is their role as tourist attractions, to encourage crazy tourist like me to traverse long distances to the tip of land, to relive our childhood dreams.

The Holy Spirit will reside in us, if we believe, repent and follow Jesus Christ. Christians are like modern ships, we have the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and teach us. But just like good equipment, it is of use only if we want to use it. Are we willing to led God lead and do His will??














What about pre-believers??
Like ancient mariners, many rely on their senses, reacting as the wind blows, the stormy qualls hit, and the relentless heat of the sun bears down.

Of course, like the ancient mariners, many do keep their faith in what they perceived to be right, be it King Neptune, the dragon kings of the deep or whatever seems effective.

As followers of Jesus Christ, if we can allow God’s love and grace to shine on our lives, by living as He commands, we will be the lighthouse that shines out into the darkness.
In calm, balmy conditions, very few sailors in their drunken stupor will pay much attention. Even the sober ones will do well to pay rapt attention to the stars in beautiful clear nites to guide their journey.

In the eyes of the secular world, a follower of Christ, in staying ramrod in their focus on Him, do at best look out of sync with the world, and the more kindly of the rational people of the world might conclude that Christians are indeed bird-brained.

But as many a follower of Christ will testify, the seas are never always calm. When a hurricane hits, the constants that we take for granted in our lives are no longer there, the land and its sense of stability is no longer in sight, and in such moments, only truly the light of Jesus Christ will ever shine so brightly and in following it, shipwrecks will truly be a non consequence.

God Blesses

Eng Hieang