The lighthouse shines in the darkness. Guiding the fisherman from out on stormy seas, it is their Beacon of hope, their guiding force to safety. Often it is the only glimmer in a fierce and tempestuous storm. When sea billows rage and angry winds toss the waves in an unruly uproar, the lighthouse stands firm upon a rock, amidst the splash of sea driven spray pounding it’s shores. Such is life in a dark storm where one’s only hope is that distant beam of luminous rescue if only it can be reached against such intense opposition.
Yet there is a force beyond the storm so powerful, so full of truth and light, that if called upon, if trusted in, will bring that storm shelter nigh and preserve that life that would be lost. This force is a person, this force is God Almighty. The maker of heaven and earth is He, and the creator of the storm you may find yourself in today. He is in the storm, yes! He uses storms oftentimes to bring us safely into the cove of shelter, the everlasting arms of His salvation.
His name is Jesus Christ. He is the creator of the universe and all storms as well as all places of paradise and peace. What does man have to do with Him? Everything! For it is in Him and through Him that we live and move, and have our being. He is God, God Almighty.
Are you in a storm? Do the waters rise up in your life and threaten your peace, your abode, your very existence? Go to Him. Go to the one who controls the storm and He will guide you home, safe into the love of His omnipotence.
All storms have a purpose, all events are ordained. God is moving the chess pieces though we don’t often see His hand at work. He is calling your name and mine, He is drawing every man to Himself, while there is still time. While one’s heart is beating there is still time. Eternity awaits and is on a clock. One day the final grain of sand will fall through your hourglass of time and eternity’s threshold will meet you where you are. Are you ready for such a step? Have you made peace with your creator? Are your sins paid for? ” for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord “.
We are all sinners making our way through the storm of life. Fallen and lost at sea, we yearn for light, truth, a Saviour. Our conscience tells us, we are sinners. We have broken every one of His laws, if we are honest with ourselves. We are estranged from this one and only most high God. He has declared way back in the garden of Eden, ” the soul that sinneth shall surely die”. We are on a death March, yet many don’t know it, or refuse to admit it. There is a day of judgement coming, a day of righteousness, truth, and judgement. On this day, an accurate accounting will be done, for every thought, careless word, and unrighteous deed. We will all give an account for our lives. The fact that we may think we are ” a pretty good person” will not deliver on this day. We will be judged by our deeds, by every broken law handed down by a Holy God.
But wait, what about the love of God!! Yes God loves us all , each one of us was made in His image, a unique creation of God Himself. It is not His will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Does that mean He wants me to repent of all my sins to be saved, and start living like a good person should? If this were enough, He wouldn’t have appointed Himself our Saviour and come to earth and died for us on a cruel and brutal cross of pain to atone for the sins of the whole world. But the love of God you may speak of and hope for is found in the lighthouse, the light of Jesus Christ, in His death, burial and resurrection that was given to save each human soul from the coming judgement of God in eternity.
What must be done to receive this gift of salvation, this light of hope of forgiveness and mercy, that we might escape the justice due that our sin debt demands? The God of creation, Jesus Christ has made it so simple, that even a child can make this choice and be saved. He says, ” and to as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the Sons of God.” “To anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, though shalt be saved “. And He says in John 6:40 ” verily verily I say unto you , he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” It is simple childlike faith in His all atoning sacrifice of Himself on the cross that saves the human soul. Nothing more, nothing less. Faith alone in Christ alone saves from the impending judgment to come.
Jesus Christ is calling every man, woman, and child to Himself. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
Sarah Hopkins Art 