Have you ever read the transcript of a radio conversation between a U.S. naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995? It goes like this: “
U.S. ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.
CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.
U.S. ship: This is the captain of a U.S. navy ship. I say again, divert your course.
CND reply: No, I say again, you divert YOUR course.
U. S. ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA. WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE U.S. NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW.
CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call.”
Although this joke has been told as if it was an event that really took place, it never actually happened. It truly is a joke!
However, a lighthouse is a very important structure, used for two main purposes- to serve as a navigational aid and to warn boats of dangerous areas. It is said to be “like a traffic sign on the sea.”
A researcherI read about, explained the symbolic meaning of a lighthouse: “Lighthouses symbolise the WAY forward and help in navigating our WAY through rough waters, whether they be financial, personal, business or spiritual in nature.”
For thousands of years, the Bible has shown individuals, people groups and nations the WAY to live. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart& lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him & He will direct your path.”
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, tells us in John 14:1 & 6: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in Me…I AM the WAY, the Truth & the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.”
Jesus IS the Way, the best lighthouse of all!
