"LET THE LOWER LIGHTS BE BURNING"

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

This may sound very strange to you, but sometimes God "talks" to me in the most unusual of ways. That happened yesterday afternoon. I was driving along Route 27 in Medfield, Massachusetts which is a fairly rural secondary road. I flipped on a local "public broadcasting" station. On the air at that time was an Irish music program they run on Saturdays in the late afternoon. The song playing was a slow, Irish, folksy version of a nineteenth century hymn: "Let the Lower Lights be Burning". It was sung by a soloist. At the end, the host gave his name and the album it's from, and I don't even remember that information. But I was fighting back tears. That song has special meaning for me. The singer had sung all the verses, and the chorus over and over. It was long, beautiful, and almost haunting.

The very first time I ever attended a service at an Assemblies of God church was on February 29, 1976 in the evening. In those days, evening services were often better attended than morning services. Today, few Assemblies of God churches hold Sunday night services. That particular service was "Women's Ministries Night". It hardly seems like it would be the best night for a 21-year-old guy to visit, but I remember that the theme of the service was, "I Lift My Lamp". The service closed with Pastor Westover, a somewhat large, intense, and countryish preacher, leading us in singing that hymn, "Let the Lower Lights be Burning" and summoning people to the altar to be saved or to have a closer walk with God. I don't think I'd ever sung that hymn before, but I found its words to be powerful. The chorus says,

"Let the lower lights be burning; send a gleam across the wave; some poor fainting, struggling seaman, you may rescue, you may save."

The song is not meant to be taken literally- that is, it's not meant to call us to be literal lighthouse keepers. Rather, the verses and the chorus are speaking of the spiritually lost and struggling in this world and our obligation to reach them with the light of the Gospel. I have nothing against the modern praise and worship choruses. In fact, I really like them. "Open Up the Sky" and "This is the Air I Breathe" are among my favorites. But, it bothers me that we've largely abandoned the old hymns of the church. I was so glad that at the church I attend, (Bread of Life in Westminster, MA) the worship team opened up today's worship time with the old hymn, "Revive Us Again"! When I was pastoring, we always sang at least one traditional hymn each service, and usually two or three in addition to the modern praise choruses. For you who are pastoring and who are worship leaders, you may disagree with me, but I think it's very important that the modern evangelical churches not forget that great heritage of rich hymns of the faith! "Let the Lower Lights be Burning" was written by Philips Paul Bliss sometime in the mid-1800s. In my own ministry, I used that as a "closing song" at least three or four times every year.

Now, why did this song almost bring me to tears yesterday? There are so many reasons! One is that this weekend marks forty-three years since I became a "born-again Christian". I asked Jesus into my heart in an unfinished bathroom on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 21, 1970. My life was never the same. It has been very rich and very fulfilling and filled with great spiritual experiences. It has also at times been incredibly difficult. The past four years, especially, have been hard. I don't have time to go into detail, but for me, 1979 through 1981 was also a very dark and painful time in my life. There are times I have been severely depressed and in counseling. There are times God has seemed to be a million miles away and like He did not care. But, I have seen and experienced miracles in my life. And, I have seen many lives changed and many people helped in my ministry. I have seen where the difficulties I have experienced even this year (being diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, having eye surgeries including a detached retina, having major dental problems, and all of these causing financial problems) have made me "more in tune" with people's needs and sufferings. When someone is hurting, I want to "be there" for them. And that's a big part of what true Christianity is supposed to be all about! Jesus said we are to let our light shine in this world. We are to touch others. We are to make a difference. I want to do that!

If I said I had no regrets about my life as a born-again Christian, I would not be telling the truth. One of the biggest mistakes Christians make is becoming self-righteous and trying to jam the Bible down people's throats. I am sorry to admit that for almost twenty years I was that way! I wrote some very pompous, self-righteous, and judgmental columns and letters to various newspapers in the 1970s and 1980s. I was so far to the "religious right" that I'm surprised I did not fall off the right wing! Today, I am very, very sorry about my self-righteousness and arrogance. Ironically, it was a fellow Assemblies of God minister who called this to my attention about twenty years ago. We were watching a television program in which anti-abortion activists were protesting outside an abortion clinic. They were condemning the girls who were heading into the clinic, and shoving photos of dead fetuses into their faces. (Now, I thought this was a good thing!) My friend said that the protestors were giving Jesus Christ a bad name. He said that what they should be doing is loving those girls and praying for them. He reminded me that if we show them real love and compassion and lead them to Jesus, they'll see that abortion is wrong, and they will make the right choice to not have abortions. After that night, I began to change my approach to evangelism. I became much less "hard-nosed" and much less "right wing". I'm still fairly conservative, but I don't think it's my responsibility to jam Jesus down people's throats. It's my job to love God and show God's love and light to the world.

I used to teach Adult Sunday School every week, and I used to preach almost every week. I have not preached in about twenty months and I have only taught Adult Sunday School once over the past year. If I ever preach again, there are several sermons I'd love to bring. One would be about what I'm writing about here: stressing Christians' responsibility to shine God's light in the dark world and to reach hurting people. I'd close that sermon by singing "Let the Lower Lights be Burning". Listen, many times hurting people hurt you right back! Many times they don't respond well. And, if you reach out with God's love to people, sometimes you'll be "badly burned". I have been on many occasions! But pastors and "regular Christians" alike: may we not fail to shine God's light! If you're not familiar with "Let the Lower Lights be Burning", do an on-line search for it. There are some youtube postings of people singing the song!

"Let the lower lights be burning; send a gleam across the wave; some poor fainting, struggling seaman, you may rescue, you may save."