Early Morning Thoughts on Chilean Miners
It’s 6:45 Wednesday morning, the morning after the night the rescue mission began to rescue the 33 trapped miners in Chile. I’ve been watching the CNN broadcast since I awoke at 6:01. The similarity between the rescue in Chile and our rescue as Christians is astounding. I’ve had to stop watching at 6:45 because were I to recount every word that applies, I would never quit writing; the similarities are countless.
*Quotations include words spoken directly from the broadcast but are not "exact quotes" spoken by the reporter or those being interviewed.
Number One:
Reporter: “Here we have the oldest miner, age 63… They were most concerned about him because he has black lung disease.”
“And the spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing.” The word spirit means breath in the Greek. The breath takes care of the black lung. The Spirit enables us to overcome the darkness.
Number Two:
To reporter: “What is the view like, so up close, witnessing this historical event?”
Reporter: “I suppose it’s like an NFL football game to watch. At home you’re getting a better picture than we are.”
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Those gone home see perfectly now.
Number Three:
To doctor: “Lots of planning went into the recovery…”
Acts 16:24-28 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of me, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the time set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
To doctor: “There had to be some concern for them medically speaking…”
Doctor: “Minor problems to fungal problems were serious problems.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death.” Whether a “little” sin or a “big” sin, sin is the problem that separates man from God.
Number Four:
The crawl at the bottom of the screen reads, “Ninth miner pulled to freedom.”
John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Number Five:
To doctor: “I understand there was some concern about their eyes as they go from sheer darkness to sunlight…”
Doctor: “The pupilary muscles are relaxed. The pupilary muscles are in a dilated position. There will be a period of time before the eyes will be acclimated to brighter and brighter light. They will have to wear special sunglasses when they surface.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
Greater light brings greater awareness of sin.
Number Six:
Reporter: “The rescue capsule weighs 924 pounds but has a belt that is connected directly to the surface that is capable of saving the miners.”
John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Number Seven:
Reporter: “There is a video camera in the top of the capsule.”
2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
Number Eight:
Reporter: “Here we have Alex Vega, 31, a veteran miner, whose father worked in the mine himself.”
Exodus 3: 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”
Number Nine:
Reporter to Jeff, a member of the drill team who made the rescue shaft: “How does it feel to be a part of this thing?”
Jeff: “It’s incredible – surreal. You walk around every day and wonder why you’re involved and is this really true? It’s very, very gratifying and it’s just the best experience we’ve ever had.”
2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is form God and not from us.”
Number Ten:
Reporter: “It is amazing to see the collaborative effort – the planning – down to every detail.”
Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Number Eleven:
Reporter to the rescue team that made the rescue shaft: “The rescue shaft is made of steel. There was some concern about it breaking away but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Who decided the design of the shaft?”
Rescue team member: “That was a decision that was made by someone higher than us.”
Isaiah 55:8, 9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways higher than your ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Here is where my notes stopped “officially” the first time at 6:45. But at 7:30 I glanced at the TV and this is what I heard:
Number Twelve:
Reporter: “I understand there was a butterfly that made its way all the way down to the men – all that distance – that stopped them in their tracks – which they stopped to watch. The collapse happened right after that. Had it not been for that little butterfly they would have all been killed.”
Romans 5:6 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
The anger of the enemy would have swallowed us alive
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side.
My mantra is “God is in control, His timing is perfect and He’s never made a mistake.”
Number Thirteen:
When my note taking stopped at 6:45, the last thing I wrote was this:
Reporter to person in charge of Chilean drill team: “This rock was so abrasive. Was there ever a time you weren’t sure you could make it through?”
Man in charge: “Yes there was. But we just kept on going a meter at a time until we reached the men. The stress was taken off when we knew we were there.”
Even though I don’t believe God has stress, I do know that Jesus wept when he saw Lazarus’ tomb. Jesus did not weep just because Lazarus was dead; He could and did raise him from the grave. He did not weep just because Mary and Martha were weeping. He wept because of humanity and what humanity has to go through – death, sorrow and pain. He knew the penalty of sin was death. He knew why He came and that, for such a time as this, Lazarus was humanity’s participant.
Just like the Chilean miners who have now been rescued, I have been rescued from this body of sin and death, by Jesus, who was raised from the tomb also
*Quotations include words spoken directly from the broadcast but are not "exact quotes" spoken by the reporter or those being interviewed.
Number One:
Reporter: “Here we have the oldest miner, age 63… They were most concerned about him because he has black lung disease.”
“And the spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing.” The word spirit means breath in the Greek. The breath takes care of the black lung. The Spirit enables us to overcome the darkness.
Number Two:
To reporter: “What is the view like, so up close, witnessing this historical event?”
Reporter: “I suppose it’s like an NFL football game to watch. At home you’re getting a better picture than we are.”
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Those gone home see perfectly now.
Number Three:
To doctor: “Lots of planning went into the recovery…”
Acts 16:24-28 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of me, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the time set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
To doctor: “There had to be some concern for them medically speaking…”
Doctor: “Minor problems to fungal problems were serious problems.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death.” Whether a “little” sin or a “big” sin, sin is the problem that separates man from God.
Number Four:
The crawl at the bottom of the screen reads, “Ninth miner pulled to freedom.”
John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Number Five:
To doctor: “I understand there was some concern about their eyes as they go from sheer darkness to sunlight…”
Doctor: “The pupilary muscles are relaxed. The pupilary muscles are in a dilated position. There will be a period of time before the eyes will be acclimated to brighter and brighter light. They will have to wear special sunglasses when they surface.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
Greater light brings greater awareness of sin.
Number Six:
Reporter: “The rescue capsule weighs 924 pounds but has a belt that is connected directly to the surface that is capable of saving the miners.”
John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Number Seven:
Reporter: “There is a video camera in the top of the capsule.”
2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
Number Eight:
Reporter: “Here we have Alex Vega, 31, a veteran miner, whose father worked in the mine himself.”
Exodus 3: 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”
Number Nine:
Reporter to Jeff, a member of the drill team who made the rescue shaft: “How does it feel to be a part of this thing?”
Jeff: “It’s incredible – surreal. You walk around every day and wonder why you’re involved and is this really true? It’s very, very gratifying and it’s just the best experience we’ve ever had.”
2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is form God and not from us.”
Number Ten:
Reporter: “It is amazing to see the collaborative effort – the planning – down to every detail.”
Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Number Eleven:
Reporter to the rescue team that made the rescue shaft: “The rescue shaft is made of steel. There was some concern about it breaking away but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Who decided the design of the shaft?”
Rescue team member: “That was a decision that was made by someone higher than us.”
Isaiah 55:8, 9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways higher than your ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Here is where my notes stopped “officially” the first time at 6:45. But at 7:30 I glanced at the TV and this is what I heard:
Number Twelve:
Reporter: “I understand there was a butterfly that made its way all the way down to the men – all that distance – that stopped them in their tracks – which they stopped to watch. The collapse happened right after that. Had it not been for that little butterfly they would have all been killed.”
Romans 5:6 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
The anger of the enemy would have swallowed us alive
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side.
My mantra is “God is in control, His timing is perfect and He’s never made a mistake.”
Number Thirteen:
When my note taking stopped at 6:45, the last thing I wrote was this:
Reporter to person in charge of Chilean drill team: “This rock was so abrasive. Was there ever a time you weren’t sure you could make it through?”
Man in charge: “Yes there was. But we just kept on going a meter at a time until we reached the men. The stress was taken off when we knew we were there.”
Even though I don’t believe God has stress, I do know that Jesus wept when he saw Lazarus’ tomb. Jesus did not weep just because Lazarus was dead; He could and did raise him from the grave. He did not weep just because Mary and Martha were weeping. He wept because of humanity and what humanity has to go through – death, sorrow and pain. He knew the penalty of sin was death. He knew why He came and that, for such a time as this, Lazarus was humanity’s participant.
Just like the Chilean miners who have now been rescued, I have been rescued from this body of sin and death, by Jesus, who was raised from the tomb also
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