The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. (Matt. 4:13)

My family and I recently visited two lighthouses on Lake Michigan. The history behind the beautifully restored lighthouses on Lake Michigan fascinates me. The lighthouse keepers and their families were isolated in a way that we can’t imagine today, even with the isolation caused by the pandemic. Imagine you’re the lighthouse keeper at Point Betsie Lighthouse, or his wife or child. The nearest road was 40 miles away, and it could be reached only by boat, which severely restricted access in and out. The lighthouse had been in operation for decades before the townspeople of nearby Frankfort, Michigan, banded together and raised money to create a road directly to the lighthouse for delivering supplies.

The lighthouse keepers and their families saved countless lives. Many times, the sailors who arrived on shore were injured or in bad health, especially after battling the harsh conditions found in the north during the dead of winter. After the lighthouse keeper guided the ship safely to shore, he and his wife and sometimes his children would haul the injured or ill sailor (or sailors) to their house in a wagon and nurse him back to health.

To me, lighthouses have always been a metaphor for Jesus. (I’m not the only one who thinks this way—you can find a lot of information online about lighthouses as a metaphor for the Christian life.) The light from the lighthouse guides ships safely to shore, in much the same way that Jesus (the Light of the world) guides us to him and through life. No matter whether the waters of this life are smooth or stormy, he will show us the way when we draw close enough to him to see his light.

Dear Jesus, thank you for being the Light that shines into our lives, illuminating the darkness and showing us the way to you. Amen.