The Lower Lights
We are all familiar with lighthouses. They send out a light that can be seen even in the worst weather. They mark the line where the sea ends and the land begins. That’s very important to those who are piloting boats, especially in bad weather.
But there are also other lights that help guide sailors through dangerous waters where reefs and unseen barriers might sink the ship. In these situations there is often only one safe way to pass through the harbor. And the only way the pilot knows the ship is in that passage is by maneuvering the ship so that the light at the top of the lighthouse aligns with the lights that are placed on the shore. They are called leading, or lower, lights.
When the ship is in the correct position, it can continue safely as long as those lights - the one in the lighthouse and the ones on the shore - are aligned with each other. If they are out of alignment, the ship is off course, and risks being wrecked.
More than 100 years ago, a well-known protestant preacher, Dwight L Moody, shared a story of a ship trying to enter the Cleveland Harbor on a stormy night.
The ship’s captain could see the bright light of the Cleveland harbor lighthouse. But the lower lights weren’t visible at all. Without the lower lights to identify the center line of the safe entry into the harbor, the ship missed the entrance to the harbor and crashed into rocks.
At the end of his sermon, Moody said, “...the Master will take care of the great lighthouse, let us keep the lower lights burning.”
A member of Moody’s congregation that day was a man named Philip Paul Bliss. He was a musician and was inspired by the sermon. He wrote the hymn “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy”. You are probably familiar with it, but I just want to share the first verse:
Brightly beams our Father’s mercy
From His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore
Let the lower lights be burning;
Send a gleam across the wave.
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.
Jesus organized the church among the Nephites He said to the leaders, “I give unto you to be the light of this people.” (3 Ne 12:14)
The lighthouse of God’s love for His children is ever present and never moving. It is constant and always available. Some people will see it and will be drawn to it, but they may not know how to get to it. We are trying to provide the lower light they need to see the safe passage.
But there are also other lights that help guide sailors through dangerous waters where reefs and unseen barriers might sink the ship. In these situations there is often only one safe way to pass through the harbor. And the only way the pilot knows the ship is in that passage is by maneuvering the ship so that the light at the top of the lighthouse aligns with the lights that are placed on the shore. They are called leading, or lower, lights.
When the ship is in the correct position, it can continue safely as long as those lights - the one in the lighthouse and the ones on the shore - are aligned with each other. If they are out of alignment, the ship is off course, and risks being wrecked.
More than 100 years ago, a well-known protestant preacher, Dwight L Moody, shared a story of a ship trying to enter the Cleveland Harbor on a stormy night.
The ship’s captain could see the bright light of the Cleveland harbor lighthouse. But the lower lights weren’t visible at all. Without the lower lights to identify the center line of the safe entry into the harbor, the ship missed the entrance to the harbor and crashed into rocks.
At the end of his sermon, Moody said, “...the Master will take care of the great lighthouse, let us keep the lower lights burning.”
A member of Moody’s congregation that day was a man named Philip Paul Bliss. He was a musician and was inspired by the sermon. He wrote the hymn “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy”. You are probably familiar with it, but I just want to share the first verse:
Brightly beams our Father’s mercy
From His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore
Let the lower lights be burning;
Send a gleam across the wave.
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.
Jesus organized the church among the Nephites He said to the leaders, “I give unto you to be the light of this people.” (3 Ne 12:14)
The lighthouse of God’s love for His children is ever present and never moving. It is constant and always available. Some people will see it and will be drawn to it, but they may not know how to get to it. We are trying to provide the lower light they need to see the safe passage.