During a recent visit to Portland in Dorset, we decided to go up Portland Bill Lighthouse. Part of the visit was taken up by an audio-visual display, giving the history of the Lighthouse service in general and Portland Bill in particular. This and further research into the history of lighthouses, set off a train of thoughts which are the basis of this exhortation.

Origins of Aids to Navigation

It is very difficult for us, as we enter the twenty-first century, to appreciate the difficulties faced by seamen in the days before planned navigational aids. By day, it was much more beneficial to remain in sight of the land because, with experience or good information, it was possible to identify features of the land. The trained eye could also spot the swirling waters associated with hidden rocks. The vast majority of travel by sea was entirely local, sailors knew their own waters intimately and generally knew how to avoid most dangers. By night, sailors were better off in the open ocean where the stars could provide direction and they were far from the dangers of dark, rugged coastlines and submerged reefs. The major civilisations such as the Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians and Vikings, which relied upon the sea to expand either their trade or their empires, travelled great distances in waters about which they knew little and soon realised the benefits of navigational aids - sea marks by day and lights by night.

This, of course was the situation in Biblical times. All of Paul's journeys in the Acts would have been undertaken in this way, with the ensuing risks and subsequent losses of life and property.

A thousand years before that, the ships of King David of Israel and Hyram, King of Tyre journeyed through-out the known world, including voyages to Tarshish. Psalm 107 carries a description of such a journey:

Psalm 107:21-30 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Already we can see some parallels developing with our own spiritual journey.

Lighthouse or Pharos?

No-one really knows the origins of lighthouses, but we can safely say that families whose members were at sea would hope that the lights in the windows of their homes would help guide their loved ones back safely. It goes without saying that a light placed in a prominent position such as on the roof or on top of a high tower would be much more visible. The better and more easily distinguishable the light, the more successful it would be. Thus, the derivation of the word 'lighthouse' seems obvious, yet the French simply use the word 'phare' which is derived from the ancient light tower at Pharos near Alexandria, which was a gigantic lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour of Alexandria, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World . It was built in the early 3rd century BC by the Macedonian kings of Egypt, Ptolemy I and Ptolemy II, and took its name from the island on which it stood. The lighthouse was repeatedly damaged by earthquakes, and any remains of the ancient structure are now concealed under a medieval fortress. Is was built of marble by the Greek architect Sostratos. Estimates of its height range from 200 to 600 ft.

Ecclesiastical lights

From medieval times to the beginning of the 17th century, the safety of seamen, which included showing lights, was a task which often fell to the caring people of the church. Indeed, the majority of early maritime lights were of ecclesiastical origin. In England, one of the most famous medieval lights was exhibited from the top of the church on St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall. This light was established around the middle of the 14th century, with the church standing proudly on its island base off the fishing port of Marazion.

Brotherhoods, Fraternities and Guilds

The dangers faced by seamen throughout history have led to a kindred spirit of compassion and charity. From earliest times, they formed into groups and associations to look after the interests of their brothers of the sea and of their families. At Deptford was created the medieval Guild of Mariners, from which stemmed the Trinity House of Deptford Strond. Deptford was where the oldest trade of the Port of London occurred and for centuries it was a very busy port. This Fraternity was composed of "godley disposed men who for the actual suppression of evil disposed persons bringing ships to destruction by the showing forth of false beacons do bind themselves together in the love of the Lord Christ in the name of the Masters and Fellows of Trinity Guild, to succour from the dangers of the sea all who are beset upon the coasts of England to feed them when ahungered and athirst, to bind up their wounds and to build and light proper beacons for the guidance of mariners."

The Trinity House, as it is now called, still takes responsibility for the provision of "proper beacons for the guidance of Mariners". Members have always been known as Brethren, derived from the old Brotherboods, there being both Elder and Younger Brethren, respectful terms which survive today.

It was this fact that Trinity House, the controlling body of the lighthouse service is governed by officers known as "Elder Brethren", which first gave me the idea of this exhortation. But what other parallels are there between the work of a lighthouse and our walk in the truth?

The first thought concerns Light and the parallel is plain enough. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:14-16 Ye 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.

Let us say then that we have a light, the word of God, that we must keep burning and keep shining. We call an Ecclesia a lightstand, don't we? Who keeps the lightstand shining? The day-to-day responsibility is delegated, of course, to the servants of the Ecclesia, the Arranging Brethren, who could equally well be called Elder Brethren, as they are in the Lighthouse Service.

So we have the lighthouse as a symbol of our ecclesias or fellowship, keeping the Light of God's Truth shining for all to see. Because just as the Bible commands us not to keep our light under a bushel, so the lighthouse is not built in a valley or at the bottom of a cliff, but is put at the highest point on the coast where it can be seen for the greatest distance.

Another aspect of the light is that every Lighthouse has a distinct signal. In the case of Portland Bill, this is four rapid flashes every 20 seconds. This is done to ensure that mariners are pointed at the correct light. We need to know that we keep ourselves aiming at the correct light, not the false light of other religions or mammon. We can do this by studying the light; doing as the Bereans did in Acts 17: "receiving the word with all readiness of mind, and searching the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

We have started to allude to the need for us to keep our eyes and our bearings firmly fixed on the Light of Truth, whilst at the same time being responsible to keeping the Light burning. Thus, we are both Keepers of the Light and followers of it, as indeed we are both teacher and pupil of the Truth; we are both shepherd and sheep. If we allow the light to go out, how will we know which way to go?

As well as the main light, the lighthouse also has a red warning light, which works on the principle that if you can see it, then you are in danger and should take avoiding action. Do we take notice of the warning signs and steer clear of danger? One of our faults as humans is the desire to try and see how close we can sail to the rocks without coming to grief, rather than see how far we can get away from the danger.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was common practice among certain of the less-scrupulous coast-dwellers, to go above the rocks during a storm and shine a false light to lure ships to their doom on the rocks. They were known as wreckers. There are many in the world that are trying to shipwreck our faith, whether it be family, friends or careers, but who is the worst offender? If we were to get close to the wrecker trying to shipwreck our own particular faith, we might well find the wreckers face as being our own - the face of our own human nature. Ultimately, after all, we cannot blame others for our disobedience as Adam and Eve tried to do.

Let us now consider the sea. There are again strong parallels that we can draw on. We know from scripture, that the sea is a symbol of the peoples and nations of the world. We, as the mariners of King David's greater Son, have to travel through this sea, in it, but not of it, in order to reach our destination. We encounter storms and strong currents trying to blow us off course. There, of course represent life's trials which we need to overcome, if we are to reach our destination.

Two particular journeys are mentioned in the second book of Chronicles:

2 Chronicles 8:18 And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

This journey, because it was to get materials for the construction of the Temple had God's blessing and was therefore successful.

2 Chronicles 20:35-37 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongeber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

This journey was done in the wrong company and for doubtless the wrong motives. Therefore God caused the ships to be wrecked.

We have the same choice today: to journey in the right company, for the greater glory of God, or to journey in the wrong company, for the wrong motives and risk being shipwrecked.

Our destination as mariners, is of course the harbour or port. One harbour where Paul sought shelter was called the Fair Havens. In our analogy, the harbour must surely represent the Kingdom of God. If we are lost at sea because we have been overcome by the storms, then we cannot reach the harbour. If we follow the wrong lights and are shipwrecked on the rocks, then we will not reach the harbour. If we ignore the warning lights, if we keep the wrong company, we will not reach the harbour.

If we are in danger of being overcome by the storms, what can we do? Let us consider an incident from the life of our Master:

Matthew 8:23-27 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to [him], and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

When they were in danger, the disciples, of course, called on their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and he saved them. Should we do any less? If we always call on Jesus in times of trouble, if we always turn to him in prayer, we WILL, with his help reach our destination. It sounds simple, and it is. Yet how often do we truly take our burdens and problems to the Lord Jesus in prayer; how often do we really leave it to God to steer our lives; and how often do we try to solve problems ourselves or steer our own course through life?

The thought of not reaching our destination is too awful to contemplate, and is summed up by Paul in his first letter to Timothy (from the NIV):

1 Timothy 1:18 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. (NIV)

We MUST hold on to our faith. It is our life-belt, or as the Americans call them, our life-saver. We cannot make the journey without it.

The harbourmaster of course does not let EVERY ship into the harbour. Those with hazardous cargoes are not permitted to enter. We tend to accumulate certain baggage from the World on our journeys. as with Paul's doomed ship, if we want to reach the harbour, perhaps certain of our worldly influences need to be thrown overboard.

We could not finish without mentioning the second part of the word "lighthouse". We are a light

(Acts 13:47) "For so hath the Lord commanded us, [saying], I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth."

As it says in the scriptures:

Ephesians 2:19-22 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner [stone]; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Let us consider just a few other scriptures, concerning this house.

Psalm 84:4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee.

Psalm 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Let us finish by returning to our lighthouse theme, to our journey, considering once again our destination, the Kingdom. This last scripture foretells not only the return of the Jews to Israel, but also, I think, the arrival of God's children into the Promised Land:

Isaiah 60:8-9 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. (Psalm 107)

We are part of a glorious house, Brothers and Sisters, a house that stretches across continents, across seas, from one corner of the globe to another. That house stretches back across the centuries, back over two thousand years to the time of Christ. The foundations of this house are built on an even older house. At the top of the house, we must shine a light, the Light of Truth. A light that reaches every corner of the world, to bring the Gospel to all Nations and be a witness to the Almighty. That light also needs to shine into every part of our house, to ensure there are no dark, dusty corners to shame us when Christ returns.

Let us maintain that bright and true light, which will guide us to the Fairest Haven of all, the glorious Kingdom of God.