By now, I am sure that you have heard about the thirty-three miners that were stuck in a collapsed mine in Chile. Against all odds, after seventeen days of drilling, the rescuers were finally able to confirm that all of the men had survived the collapse and that they were alive. For the families, it was nothing short of a miracle.
Not only is this a news story that has a happy ending (which is rare in itself), but I was thinking that this story is a good parallel to the gospel story.
You see, spiritually speaking, we were like those miners. We were trapped in a bad place. The apostle Paul puts it this way, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another” (Titus 3:3).
Fortunately, as in the case of those miners, unbeknownst to us, someone was “digging us out”. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (verses 4-7). Those miners were saved because of the efforts of others who loved them and cared about them too much to leave them to die. The same is true of us. We are “dug out” of our sins, not because of our actions, but because of God’s love. As Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Here is the point: If we have been “dug out” then should help “dig others out”. If we remember what we have been saved from, how can we not go and help save others? There really is no other option.
One of the drillers at the mine site was quoted as saying, “Its been like a heart that has been breaking, but we are thankful they’re all alive. We did everything we could to save them, and in the end we succeeded”.
One of the family members said, “We are not going to abandon this camp until we go out with the last miner left. There are 33 of them, and one is my brother.”
Can God’s people say, “We did everything we could to save them”? Can we say, “We are not leaving until everyone is safe?” Do we remember that someone dug us out?
When we really love God and really love those around us, we will happily keep digging until the end.
Not only is this a news story that has a happy ending (which is rare in itself), but I was thinking that this story is a good parallel to the gospel story.
You see, spiritually speaking, we were like those miners. We were trapped in a bad place. The apostle Paul puts it this way, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another” (Titus 3:3).
Fortunately, as in the case of those miners, unbeknownst to us, someone was “digging us out”. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (verses 4-7). Those miners were saved because of the efforts of others who loved them and cared about them too much to leave them to die. The same is true of us. We are “dug out” of our sins, not because of our actions, but because of God’s love. As Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Here is the point: If we have been “dug out” then should help “dig others out”. If we remember what we have been saved from, how can we not go and help save others? There really is no other option.
One of the drillers at the mine site was quoted as saying, “Its been like a heart that has been breaking, but we are thankful they’re all alive. We did everything we could to save them, and in the end we succeeded”.
One of the family members said, “We are not going to abandon this camp until we go out with the last miner left. There are 33 of them, and one is my brother.”
Can God’s people say, “We did everything we could to save them”? Can we say, “We are not leaving until everyone is safe?” Do we remember that someone dug us out?
When we really love God and really love those around us, we will happily keep digging until the end.
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