"my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." - Hosea 4:6
In 1871, a ship was approaching the harbor of Cleveland. The captain, noticing only one light as they drew near — that from the lighthouse —asked the pilot if he was quite sure that it was Cleveland harbor, as other lights should have been burning to illuminate the rocks along the harbor mouth. The pilot replied that he was quite sure it was Cleveland, whereupon the captain inquired:
'Where are the lower lights to mark the shore?'
'Gone out, sir.'
'Can you make the harbor?'
'We must, or we will perish, sir!'
And with a strong hand and a brave heart, the old pilot turned the wheel. But alas, in the darkness he missed the channel, and with a crash upon the rocks the boat was shivered, and many lives were lost in a watery grave.
In 1871, a ship was approaching the harbor of Cleveland. The captain, noticing only one light as they drew near — that from the lighthouse —asked the pilot if he was quite sure that it was Cleveland harbor, as other lights should have been burning to illuminate the rocks along the harbor mouth. The pilot replied that he was quite sure it was Cleveland, whereupon the captain inquired:
'Where are the lower lights to mark the shore?'
'Gone out, sir.'
'Can you make the harbor?'
'We must, or we will perish, sir!'
And with a strong hand and a brave heart, the old pilot turned the wheel. But alas, in the darkness he missed the channel, and with a crash upon the rocks the boat was shivered, and many lives were lost in a watery grave.
As D.L. Moody related the news of this maritime disaster to his congregation, he made this appeal:
"The Master will take care of the great
light-house: let us keep the lower lights burning!"
Among Moody’s hearers that evening was Mr. Philip P.
Bliss, the well-known hymn writer, and the striking story at once
suggested to him one of his most popular hymns: "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning."This song is really powerful for me because so many of my friends and I wrecked our lives on the rocks (just like that ship) in part because the "Lower Lights" that should have been burning were forcefully extinguished in the name of "Tolerance."
As I started to describe in my (1/8/2013) post "St. Joseph, the Navy Seal," the ministry and evangelism efforts that I've felt God has led me to over the past year has been all about frantically lighting "the lower lights."
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." - Matthew 5:14-16
