Country Chatter

Sunday a group from church sang this beautiful old gospel hymn and it ministered so deeply to me. Its message spoke to my weary soul.

The lyrics to the song…..

There’s a lighthouse on the hillside
That overlooks life’s sea
When I’m tossed it sends out a light
That I might see

And the light that shines in darkness now
Will safely lead us home
If it wasn’t for the lighthouse
My ship would be no more

It seems that everyone around us says
“Tear that old lighthouse down
The big ships just don’t pass this way anymore
So there’s no use in standing ’round”
Then my mind goes back to that one dark stormy night
When just in time, I saw the light
Yes, it was the light from that old lighthouse
That stands there up there on the hill

And I thank God for the lighthouse
I owe my life to Him
Jesus is the lighthouse
And from the rocks of sin
He has shown a light around me
That I might clearly see
If it wasn’t for the lighthouse
(Tell me) Where would this ship be?

I thank God for the lighthouse
I owe my life to Him
Jesus is the lighthouse
And from the rocks of sin
He has shown the light around me
That I mighty clearly see
If it wasn’t for the lighthouse
(Tell me) Where would this ship be?

Connie Lancaster introduced the song, it is one of her favorites, and she has requested it numerous times through the years. Her words are worth repeating……

“ The first time I heard the song ‘The Old Lighthouse’ I knew it was more than a song, it was a story with many truths.

The people who lived around the lighthouse decided they did not need it anymore. They said the big ships didn’t sail through there any more, there was no use it’s hanging around. Finally one man stood up and said, ‘my mind goes back to a stormy night, a very dark night, when just in time I saw the light. It was the light from this old lighthouse. I owe my life to him. Jesus is that lighthouse. If it was not for that lighthouse, this ship would be no more.’

We at PMC (Powhatan Mennonite Church) are a lighthouse beaming light to our community from this corner of Route 13. Let us faithfully share the light.”

As I soaked up the precious words of the song I was reminded of Jesus’ words to us, “I am the light of the world.” We are only the candle, lighthouse, or lantern from which His light beams. Jesus also said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:14-16…..

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

A burnout candlestick, forsaken lighthouse or discarded lantern does not offer the lifesaving guiding light. It can only stand as a memorial to a has been.

Are you drifting on the sea of life? Are the storms and fogs of life causing you to lose your way? Are you in danger of ship wreck? There is help. There is a guiding light shining bright if you just look and reach out. Jesus is beckoning for you and will navigate you through the sandbars and rocky shoreline to bring you home. Can you trust him today?

If you are searching for the way to Jesus start by reading the New Testament. The book of John is a good starting place.