Hi friends!

One of my all-time favorite Lamplighter books is Rising to the Top by Mary E. Ropes. This is a short yet intriguing story about an orphan boy who is falsely accused, a deceitful butler, and the faithfulness of God. 

I was first drawn to this story because the main character is an artist, like myself. As soon as I opened its pages, I found I couldn’t put it down! Ushered into the fabric of the story, I was inspired by Bob’s agonizing and relentless pursuit of his craft. He worked with very few resources and hardly any time to work on his craft. His only medium was a piece of coal and the whitewashed wall of his bedroom closet, yet he still was able to create a masterpiece. Having an agonizing and relentless pursuit of excellence, regardless of the resources available, is one of the values here at Lamplighter that has inspired me in my craft. 

I don’t often read a story a second time, but the excellent writing, plot, characters, and themes compelled another reading. Though I greatly enjoyed the story, there seemed to be something that I was missing in these unassuming pages. 

I read it again and conviction set in.

It was during this third reading that I saw something I hadn’t seen before. The real lesson in this book finally rose to the top, if you will, and showed me a part of my heart that I didn’t like, but I knew it needed to be brought into the light.  

In a chapter titled “That Respectable Gyves,” Bob has accidently broken one of the costly dessert plates. On his way to tell his master, he is intercepted by the scheming butler, Mr. Gyves. Here is how the scene plays out: 

“Where are you going?” asked Gyves, pausing with the dessert-plates in his hands. “Oh, I see; of course you have got all that broken glass to throw away quick, before it gets found out.”

“I’m not going to do nothing of the kind!” replied Bob, indignantly. “I’m going straight to the drawing-room.” 

“The drawing-room? And pray what to do there?” asked Gyves.

“Why to show what I’ve done, of course, and to ask master and mistress to forgive me for my clumsiness. I daresay they’ll scold me, but I can’t help that.” 

“Well,” said the butler, “you’re a bigger donkey than even I thought you—to go and get yourself into trouble for nothing!”

“Why, I can’t do less than tell master and mistress about it,” replied Bob. “I wouldn’t hide it for anything! And think how awful it would be for me when it was found out at last.” 

“Nonsense!” rejoined Gyves; “cats get into the pantry sometimes, while we’re washing up, and what’s easier to say than that puss jumped on to the table and knocked down a goblet? But, Master Robert, if you’re so ready to tell of yourself, maybe you’d think less still of telling of me, suppose I’d been and broken something.” 

“It would be harder to tell of you than of myself,” answered Bob; “but I hope it wouldn’t be left for me to do; you’d be wise enough to tell of yourself, Mr. Gyves.” And Bob left the room, not waiting for the butler’s reply.

When I read this section, I realized that in my own heart there is often the voice of the ‘respectable Gyves,’ or rather, the ‘respectable guise’ that whispers for me to hide my insufficiencies, sins, weaknesses, faults, and failures. A voice that tells me, “No one will ever know,” and “Quick! Hide before someone finds out!” A voice that beckons me to pretend to be someone that I’m not. A part of me that always attempts to look good on the outside, when the reality is that my heart is desperately wicked above all else. Just like Mr. Gyves, and just like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, I am often tempted to live under that respectable guise. But by God’s grace and His great forgiveness, we don’t have to live that way, nor should we.

One of the values we hold here at Lamplighter, that I hold close to my heart, is that of walking in the light and keeping short sin accounts. That is what it takes to silence the voice of the respectable guise that hides our sins. Like Robert in the story, we may lose our reputation, position, or be made to look foolish or weak, but these are just what God uses so that He may, at just the right time, lift us up. 

As the faithful housekeeper, Mrs. Candytuft, oft quoted in the book, “There’s two things that always comes to the top, Robert; one’s merit, and the other’s scum; and the rising of both is sure, though it may take time.” 

Serving together, 
Rainey
Marketing Director/Graphic Designer

P.S. If you haven’t yet read Rising to the Top, I can’t recommend it enough. And if you have already read it, read it again and see what new truths God might reveal to you . . . there’s more to this story than meets the eye!