‘Long As I Can See The Light"

Thinking and wondering what to choose as a topic for my first message on this blog, I was struck by a calendar picture on my kitchen wall. It was of a tall, white lighthouse. And without thinking, the words of an old song played through my mind:

Put a candle in the window – ‘Cause I feel I got to move
Yes I’m going, But I’ll be coming home soon, 
As long as I can see the light. 

Until this moment, the symbolic meaning of lighthouses never struck me. Neither did the deeper meaning of that great, old song. I believe God put these together for me. He let the light of his revelation shine through the gloom of my foggy mind. 

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 

Jesus, then, is our spiritual lighthouse. As long as we follow him and walk in his light, we will have life. 

Sometimes, though, clouds enter our lives. These can be anything, from pressure at work, family problems, poor health, problems with relationships, money troubles and on and on. These often cause spiritual problems. By concentrating  upon worldly troubles, we lose sight of what God wants for us. 

We may even lose faith altogether. At that point, we are lost. We float about here and there, without our bearings. Like ships at sea in stormy weather, we are in danger of sinking. But somewhere out there, the light still shines. And all we need to do is get a glimpse of the smallest beam of that light and we can follow it back home, back to the Lord. 

“Yes I’m going, but I’ll be coming home soon, as long as I can see the light.” 

And just as God shines his light out there for us to see, he wants for us to serve as a light for others. When, in his Beatitudes, Jesus spoke to the multitudes, he said, “…Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.” 

Do we always do that? How often do we, as Christians, remember that we have a Heavenly commission?  We must remember, then, to always do good so that others may come to realize that it is God working through us. Then they, too, can come to accept Christ and give glory to God. 

Even our meeting place is a form of lighthouse. In every community, each village, town and city, churches stand out as lights to the world. 

So the very buildings where we meet are spiritual lighthouses to the world. But the church is not wood, stone and plaster. The church universal is all the believers, all of God’s people. 

Let us, then, be that candle in the window, the one that those wandering in darkness can see and by its light, come back home again, home to God.