November 2022

 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.” – Matthew 5:14-16

Dear Friends of First,

When I first visited First Lutheran it was evening, as I drove up Center Street, I noticed the tall, illuminated steeple. I thought to myself ... “it’s a lighthouse”. Lighthouses have been around for thousands of years. The earliest known ones were in Egypt 2,000 years ago. I’ve traveled around the Great Lakes visiting its various lighthouses. Most are no longer in use due to the modern technology. Thankfully many of those lighthouses still stand thanks to the work of those who know the importance of preserving such historical structures.

Lighthouses have special meaning to the Christian Churches, it represents guidance, refuge, and salvation. People in the community look to church for help in navigating life’s waters and warning of life’s dangers. The church is where we worship, find encouragement, and growth, the lighthouse is a beautiful image for the church, one that has always given comfort to the soul.

Jesus told his followers that they were the light of the world. Actuality, Jesus is the light, and we his followers are to reflect His light. Another function of light is to reveal what is hidden in the darkness and to dispel the darkness. As Jesus was preaching the Sermon on the Mount, he pointed to one of the surrounding hilltop cities with their glistening walls, which were often whitewashed with limestone, making them highly visible. Jesus said they cannot be hidden. 

Likewise, churches should not be hidden. Whether we like it or not, the community looks to the church to be the lighthouse, providing direction for their lives and safety from the danger of shipwrecking their lives.

When the church no longer lets its light shine in its communities, then disaster is invited into the community, and shipwrecked lives abound. Then, the church that once had influence in their communities no longer does, then the community has no one to help navigate the turbulent waters of life or no one to warn them of what dangers lay beneath those same waters.

I leave you with a final thought: What are you doing to be an effective light for others in your world? 

So, let your light shine!

Pastor Jim