One of the most memorable weeks I’ve spent traveling was as part of a seven-day crew on a five-mile spit of land off the coast of Washington State. The crew acted as lighthouse keepers, grounds keepers, and hosts to visitors who walked the five miles from the parking lot to visit the station that was built in 1857. There is no road to the lighthouse.
During our stay, we were fogged in, cut off from the mainland by rough seas, and experienced a King tide. We had the opportunity to share the history of the lighthouse and its keepers over the years. While the other crew members slept in the main house, I had the opportunity to sleep in the original keeper’s quarters inside the lighthouse. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Before the US Coastguard automated the light station in 1976, keepers were required to manually keep the lamp lit and ring the fog bell through the night in severe weather. Now, the light and the foghorn are fully automated.
I cannot imagine being the sole human responsible for keeping the lamp lit during the night and in foul weather. The lives of many mariners passing through the Straight depended on a single beam and the man who kept it shining.
Light and Dark
Light and dark may be an overused metaphor. But is it possible that modern civilization with its electric powered and digital lifestyle has lost connection with how profound darkness can be? Surrounded by constant sources of light, perhaps we have lost the sense of how powerful even a small light is in a dark space.
In his eyewitness account of the life of Christ, John introduces Jesus in this way:
“The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out” John 1:4-5.
John later records Jesus saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” John 8:12.
Because we follow Jesus by faith, he therefore lives in us. Because Jesus lives in us through his Spirit, we are also light in the world. But let us not forget about the darkness. Because they lived in darkness, they couldn’t see or understand the light.
“He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” John 1:10-11.
Light Matters
Ask a sailor on the sea at night if a light signaling the position of the shore matters. Even in the days of sophisticated navigational systems, the beacon on the hill is important. A little light on a dark night is lifesaving.
Perhaps one of biggest lies of our perpetually lit, Las Vegas style distracted life is the idea that a small light cannot make a difference. If we don’t have 40,000 followers on social media, if we are not popular, influential or rich, we have no importance.
The point to remember is that the false and temporary lights of this world are not the eternal Light of men. Do the lights of Las Vegas lead to spiritual life or death? Can the things that attract and distract in the here and now promise eternity in the presence of God?
This world is in profound spiritual darkness. Your little, humble light matters. Imagine that you are the only true light along a rocky shore on a stormy night. Whether you know it or not, someone in the darkness will see that one small light and find their way safely to shore.
Let your light shine.
Copyright @ TA Boland 2025
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