Thursday, September 23, 2010

His way is narrower still

Carmen Fowler ~ 9/22/2010
It’s not quite the eye of a needle nor the head of a pin, but 3.19 inches isn’t a very big space. My hand doesn’t fit, neither does a 16-ounce coffee cup and a standard roll of toilet paper is not even close. My keys would fit and so would a flash drive, but what would be the point of that without a vehicle, a house or a computer?

2,230 feet below the surface of the earth, 33 Chilean miners are totally dependent upon three narrow boreholes, 3.19 inches in diameter. Rescue is still months away, but hope and the life and even joy arrive via little “doves” that shoot back and forth from the surface 24 hours a day. 

On the day that the first borehole reached the miners it was literally a shaft of light piercing the darkness announcing deliverance and salvation.

According to the Newsweek Back Story, the miners are now receiving:

·          A daily 2,000-calorie diet
·          Five liters of bottled water per miner per day
·          Poles and canvas for cots
·          Shoes, clothing, toiletries
·          Journals and 33 mini-Bibles
·          An iPod with speakers
·          Head-lamp batteries
·          Vitamin D supplements
·          Syringes for tetanus, diphtheria, influenza and pneumonia vaccinations
·          Camera and phone line
·          A mini-projection and fiber-optic line to show sports and movies in a 50 in. picture on the cave wall

So, come to find out, a lot can fit through a little space!

Now, consider the reality of all that God was able to supply for us through the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of one man, Jesus. A narrow way? Yes, but with grace all sufficient and all that was needed for our salvation.

In the person of Christ, God bore a hole through the layers of darkest sin. In the person of Christ, God offers a way out of the pit of despair and certain death. In the person of Christ, God provides for a means of restored relationship, communication, fellowship, hope. He is a lifeline, a conduit, the only hope of a salvation.

Just like the miners in Chile, we cannot save ourselves. Digging a deeper hole will not do. Help has to come from the outside. And so it has! By the grace of God, in the person of Christ, who pierces the darkness with the light of life.

3.19 inches is a very narrow way. Narrower still is the way to the Father through Christ, the Son. But genuinely blessed are those who have access to life through it.

No comments: