Our Lighthouse
On our last family vacation when we were visiting the Outer Banks, we made an extended stop at the Bodie Island lighthouse. It is a beautiful lighthouse with bold black and white stripes, and it is well maintained with many places for scenic pictures. One of the highlights of the trip for me was a conversation I had with a Park Ranger outside. He talked about the tradition of being the lighthouse keeper. The Keeper at Bodie Island was, by his station, a respected member of the community. The extraordinary commitment, dedication, and responsibility of the job spoke volumes of the fine people who filled the job over the years.
This got me thinking about how the church is like a lighthouse. For those who spend their time with the daily maintenance of the church (doing committee meetings, planning events, putting together resource packets for visitors, etc.), the job is often thankless, but the church needs those people to function. The church, like the lighthouse, has a duty to shine a light which gives hope, grace and direction. However, the church does not make its own light. The Church, if it is doing its job, is reflecting the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our world is in desperate need of this light! This light, the light of Christ, is full of love and grace and compassion. And though the storms of our journey are filled with all kinds of difficult things, we are reminded that Christ’s light will never be overcome. It stands as a guide to us all. This love is described beautifully by Paul …
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:1-7
As we at First Presbyterian Church “let our light shine” like the lighthouses of the great North Carolina coast, remember that no kindness is too small, no compassion is too insignificant, and no task is too large for our dedication to the Gospel. The world is in need of healing and we must bear this light by being witnesses to the power of loving God and loving neighbor. This mission gives the church purpose beyond its meetings, worship services and programs. We, like the Lighthouse Keeper on Bodie Island, must be known for our dedication to the task at hand.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Rob
