Be a Beacon for Christ

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

While traveling through Iceland, I saw several stacked rocks that dotted the landscape. It fascinated me to see them running parallel to the highway I traveled.

These stone stacks are known as cairns. Some of the cairns are 1200 years old.  Originally, they were built by Vikings on their explorations of Iceland. Some of these monuments were burial markers and others held messages and food.  However, their most prevalent purpose was as guides to help the Vikings navigate back out of the highlands and to lead others into the land that followed them. The cairns are still used today, Iceland built their main road that encompasses the island nation by these ancient highways.  Travelers today are still following the same route the Vikings established.      

               Unfortunately, tourist over the years have built their own cairns as monuments to their travels. Cairns are still used as landmarks and Pathfinders in Iceland by the residence. These added stacks could make someone lose their way. In some areas the tourist cairns litter the landscape. These false beacons not only confuse the path, but they also damage the mosses that grow on the rocks and the ground.

As I stood next to one of the weathered cairns, spotted with moss and lichen, I thought about how the Vikings built these markers to guide travels and now even 1200 years later they guided me on my journey through the land.

Five thousand years ago, Moses wrote the first chapters of the Bible. Two thousand years ago, the disciples of Jesus wrote of his teaching and healing of the masses. Paul wrote to the churches to encourage and teach. So even today, God’s Word is guiding people, generation after generation to the truth. Teaching the wonderous gift of salvation through Christ’s sacrifice. However, just like the tourist cairns, adding to or taking away from God’s Word can lead people a stray. Be careful what you share with believers and non-believers alike. You must always refer to the Word of God and never change it to fit what you want it to say or a point you want to make.  We are beacons showing the way to Jesus and redemption through Him.

Unfortunately, there are many other markers that lead to paths of destruction. Do not be distracted and stand firm in God’s Word. Many will try to lead you away and on paths that lead you further away from God.

Be a beacon for Christ.

Typist for Jesus