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I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They are not part of this world any more than I am. Make them pure and holy by teaching them your words of truth. As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. (John 17:15-18)

There is a lighthouse at Cape Spear, Newfoundland. The craggy rocks of the shore greet the raging cold waters of the North Atlantic and shoot frothy spray 200 feet in the air at their meeting. A light wind is 50 mph. Shipwrecks along this shore have been many. Yet for over 150 years, the Cantwell family has kept the lighthouse to guide ships through these dangerous and turbulent waters. Amid the hardship, isolation, and cold, one thing has kept this family going all these years: each morning, as the light peeks over the eastern horizon, they are the first in North America to greet the sunrise and welcome a new day!^*

This image, this place of danger and rescue, is a great way for us to see ourselves as God's people — we are God's outpost of grace in a dangerous world. When Jesus came to form the band of brothers and sisters to continue his work in the world, he called them to live in such a place. He didn't want them living lives hidden and protected from the storms of real life or the struggles of the real world. If they lived in such a safe and secluded place, how could they help others find their way to safe harbor? How could they offer rescue, guidance, and hope to those caught in the storms or lost in the fog of doubt?

To be a Christ-follower is to be a person who shuns safety.

To be a Christ-follower is to be a person who shuns safety. After all, our hero was crucified as an enemy of both religion and the state. To be a Christ-follower means we live in the places of life's collisions and choose to stay there for the good of others. Our presence won't ensure that every ship makes it safely to harbor; some will not appreciate our light or want to make their home in God's harbor. Yet without our presence at the place the cold and dangerous waters meet the craggy reality of real life's rugged coastline, many more will be battered as they try to make their way through the storm to safe harbor.

Why would we choose such a dangerous place to build our lives and find our identities? Ah, we know where heaven's hope is found! We know the grace that fills each day with meaning and purpose! We are the first to see God's sonrise and welcome heaven's new day!

^* The information on the lighthouse at Cape Spear was taken from the article "Keeper of the Light" by Bailey White in the Lands End catalogue a number of years ago.

 

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© 2004 Phil Ware. All rights reserved.

Title: "The First to See the Sunrise"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: June 28, 2004

Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive by John Eldredge Will lead you to understand how to live from the heart, care for your heart like the treasures of the kingdom, and give from fullness instead of emptiness.

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click here.

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