A Beacon In The Night

 Carp's Daily Tidbits

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2

Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Today's Title: A Beacon In The Night

Today's Scripture: John 1:5

A caution light stands guard over the intersection of rural roads 1187 and 1886 between the communities of Aledo, Weatherford, and Azle Texas.  The light flashes both day and night, warning drivers of oncoming traffic and alerting them to the possibility of traffic which is either turning onto another road, crossing over the intersection, or turning off the main road in order to take another direction.  No matter what decision the various drivers make, the beacon continues to flash, in all weathers, day and night, faithfully telling all who pass that way to slow down and be careful.

Life is just like this intersection.  People are always traveling from one destination to another and it seems that life’s path is peppered with intersections.  At each crossing, we must make a decision to either continue on our present course or veer off and take another path.  These decisions occur more often than we think, perhaps several times in a day.  All of us have made decisions without heeding the warning signs and the big flashing lights which always surround life’s intersections.  Only after making certain decisions do we wish we would have paid more attention to the flashing beacons warning us of potential difficulty, calling us to consider carefully the path we are traveling.

During the day, we pay little attention to the warning signs.  We can see the roads clearly, and usually signs of difficulty and danger are readily noticeable.  If there is a construction sigh, if something is blocking the path, or if there is a traffic jam, we continue on our present course assured in the knowledge that this road will take us to our destination.  However, it is at night when the warning lights are most visible and we are forced to confront the reality that we are approaching an intersection and must make a decision.

One evening a few years ago, I was at this intersection.  I was returning home from a friend’s house and I approached the intersection to take another road. Long before I actually arrived, I could see the flashing light, warning me to stop and check in both directions before I turned onto another road.  As I safely negotiated the intersection and continued on my way, my car was bathed in the warm yellow light that came on and went off and regular intervals.  I could still see it in my rear view mirror as I continued down the road.  It was pitch dark and the only visible sign was that faithful caution light, constantly working to show people the way.

What a wonderful and accurate picture this is of John 1:5: “The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”  This verse taken from the New Living Translation accurately portrays Jesus as the light that came into the world to show us the way to salvation.  John writes about the light that came into the world to dispel sin’s darkness and to warn all those traveling life’s road of the impending danger ahead.  John says the light shines in darkness.  The verb is in the present tense because Jesus’ light still shines through all the intersections of life, warning us of the dangers of living in the dark world of sin.

Like that flashing light, the truth of the gospel stands out in stark contrast to the darkness of sin.  Once we have seen it, once we have heard it, we must then make a decision based on that knowledge.  Will we heed the warning Jesus is sending?  Will we consider that the road ahead is filled with dangers and disasters and unless we turn from it and follow a better way we will never arrive at a safe destination? 

Is it dark where you are today?  Does the road you are traveling seem filled with pitfalls, dangers, and uncertainties?  Look just ahead of you.  There is a flashing light indicating an intersection just ahead.  There you will have to make a decision.  Will you heed the light and yield to it?  If you do, your life will never be the same.  In the dark world of sin, Jesus is the true beacon in the night.