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Background song is "The Lighthouse"
A LIGHTHOUSE STORY
Many years ago there was a little village on a rocky seacoast, where storms
often battered and seas were ever treacherous. Many ships were driven onto
the rocks by the storms, and the lives of many sailors were lost because of the
raging seas.
One day the people decided among themselves that they should establish a
lighthouse and life saving station on a little peninsula on the coast, to warn
ships away from the rocks and to save the lives of those who were cast into
the icy waters. They approached the government and began to secure the
necessary funds for their project. Soon they set forth and built a tower, and set a
beacon in it; they organized a lookout system; and they bought boats and
learned how to man them; and soon they were in business. The business of saving
lives!
Soon the effects of what they were doing became known far and wide. Fewer
ships went on the rocks; and when such a tragedy did occur, and the alarm was
sounded, the people risked their own lives to rescue those who had been cast
into the raging, icy waters. Within a few short years, people came from great
distance to study their lighthouse, and to use it as a model.
One day someone suggested that, since they all spent so much time at the
lighthouse that they should gather there occasionally and enjoy good fellowship.
And soon they began to get together (at first infrequently, and then more
often) at the lighthouse. In fact, many people began to build their homes near
the lighthouse. Then when the lookout sounded the alarm, they were there,
ready to go out.
Next, it was decided that if they were going to spend so much time there,
they must make the place more comfortable. So arrangements were made to heat
the lighthouse. The gray walls were painted a brilliant white. Some of the
walls were paneled; rugs were put on the floors to disguise the bare concrete; a
fine kitchen was installed with a handsome stove; and generally speaking the
lighthouse became a nice place to spend your time waiting for the alarm to be
sounded. Everything about the lighthouse was made comfortable and nice. The
lighthouse soon became the center of life in the little town that grew up
around it.
One night a fierce storm blew in, as storms had blown in for years. Many
ships were tossed on the jagged rocks, and the men at the lighthouse spent long
hours picking sailors from the bitter cold icy waters and taking them to the
lighthouse, where they were fed and provided with dry clothing. This had
happened many times over the years, but this time, after the storm subsided and
the sailors had all left the lighthouse, there were some men who were angry.
It seems the storm had made them leave the comfort of the lighthouse, and go
out into the wet, dangerous seas; and they got cold; very cold. The sailors,
when they were delivered to the lighthouse, soiled the carpets. The kitchen
was a mess, not to mention the stove. After a brief meeting it was first
decided that sailors, when they were brought to the lighthouse, should be taken to
the basement, not to the nice upper areas.
Some time later, another storm blew in; and about one half of the men went
out in the boats, and again picked sailors from the frigid waters. This time
the ship, which had broken apart on the rocks, was from another nation; and
the men who manned her spoke another language, and even worse were of a
different color. After this storm, a few more men joined those who refused to enter
the sea. They decided that men like these did not belong in the lighthouse at
all; some said they felt that the lighthouse's job was not supposed to be
saving sailors from other lands, because they were so much different. There
were those, too, who objected to leaving the comfort of the lighthouse to go out
into the storm. These men petitioned the government and they also agreed.
So, finally, it was decided that the beacon would be kept lit, but the rescue
work would be discontinued.
A small group disagreed, however, and went down the coast, a short distance,
and started a new lighthouse. This small group decided that they should
establish the biggest life saving station on the little peninsula, and so they
did. Every day they warned ships and sometimes attempted to save lives from the
icy water. Fame of the new lighthouse grew and the lighthouse back up the
bay eventually turned out its beacon. Some people say the beacon can still be
seen today in you and I. Oh yes, they also say the small group running the new
lighthouse were those once rescued from the raging seas.
We as people all have a choice to make with regards to our rescue work. We
can choose to allow our lives to become comfortable and we can find ourselves
very content. And often times we may find that we have turned out our beacon
of hope for one another. Or perhaps, I hope and pray that we find ourselves
lighting and saving the path of others both in our words and deeds.
We have a selection of pages titled TESTIMONIES if you have a testimony that you would like to have included in our pages please send it to TESTIMONIES Thank you.
Comments, Questions, or Prayer Requests Please email us.