Lighting the Way
“Two Lights” (Penobscot Bay, Mark Island, off Stonington, Maine)
Of the reportedly 65 lighthouses along the Maine Coast, 57 are active, 55 of which are managed by the Coast Guard. As shining sentinels guarding harbor entrances and standing on rocky shoals, these beacons guide fishermen and sailors safely home through the darkness hiding Maine’s hazardous waters and cliff lined shores.
The Genesis story of creation states quite simply that God created light: “God made the two great lights… and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:16-18)
That same narrative also reveals that God merely spoke and light appeared. Today, His voice enlightens our darkened, broken world and disperses spiritual darkness just as His words took away the darkness of the physical world. King David sang, “You are my lamp, O Lord, You turn my darkness into light.” “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” “I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (2 Samuel 22:29) (Psalm 119:105) ( Psalm 119:11) And in his letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul claimed that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (2 Timothy 3:15-16)
God’s message for humanity is so crucial, so loving, but so misunderstood that He personified it. He gave us Jesus. (John 3:16) His Word became more than oral or recorded or transcribed words. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthian 4:6) Jesus, as the expressed image of God, became the living Word of God to give us redemption and hope. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (Colossians 1:15) (John 1:14) (Philippians 2:7) (John 1:4-5)
Through the life and redemptive activity of Christ, God’s voice speaks clearly and loudly. There is no mistaking that humanity is in extreme need of forgiveness and spiritual restoration and that God offers amazing grace to those who will believe. He delivers “ us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…” (Colossians 1:13) “
Jesus, “the Light of the World” had come to shine through life’s hazards and pitfalls. He guides our souls to the safety of God’s Kingdom through the confusing darkness which invades humanity’s minds and spirits .“If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life, “ Jesus said. (John 8:12)
