Are You A Faithful Lighthouse Keeper

Years ago I read an article titled Be a Faithful Lighthouse Keeper. The article talked about the Pharos Lighthouse in Alexandria. Built between 280 and 247 BC it was estimated to be 100 meters tall. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, for many centuries it was one of the tallest man-made structures in the world.  The builder Sostrates asked Ptolemy II the king of Egypt at the time for permission to inscribe his name on the lighthouse, but Ptolemy said no, in fact, Ptolemy ordered Sostrates to inscribe his name on the lighthouse. What Sostartes did was inscribe his own name in the marble of the lighthouse, then he coved it with plaster and inscribe Ptolemy’s name in the plaster. As time went on the plaster was blasted away by the elements reviling Sostrates inscription.

The lighthouse is an example of the Church. The Church belongs to Christ, and he has written his name on it. We are the keepers of the lighthouse (the church), as such, we have three duties

1. Be committed to God through worship.

We should commit to worship God.  We must understand that ultimately worship is not about us or for us.  It is about and for God.

1. Be Committed to our fellow believers through nurturing and caring for our sisters and brothers

We need to love and care for our sisters and brothers in the church.  They need to know that we are with them just as God is with them through hardships and difficulties.

1. Be committed to the world through evangelizing and caring.

We live by the example set by Christ.  We show and tell people about Christ.  We allow people to see the Holy Spirit in us  (show) and we tell them about the love of Christ (tell).

We all need to see ourselves as keepers and caretakers of the Church.  Sometimes we can look at ourselves or others within the church and say we are the builders.  Maybe we helped to finance the building project, or maybe we worked hard at evangelism and some of the people that we worked with are starting to come to church.  Maybe we are a pastor or a leader within a church that has experienced massive growth.  It is easy–and probably a quality of human nature–to think like Sostrates and say I built this and I want my name on it.  I want the recognition.’ Ultimately we work for the king.  The King is the one who blessed us with the ability to serve.  The church is Gods church, but he has entrusted us with its care. That is an awesome responsibility, but it is also a great honor, and we should see it as such.