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| Mario Gomez, 63, the oldest of the trapped miners, was the ninth man to be rescued. | He vowed never to go below again. |
Long after I fell asleep last night Linda stayed up and watched the first Chilean miners emerge in the capsule called "Phoenix." When I awoke today we watched #s 10 & 11 step from darkness into the light. Seeing miner #10, Alex Vega, hold his wife in an enduring embrace was joy-filled and emotional.
We have here a metaphor for the Jesus-salvation idea. While I was in darkness, light entered the world. God descended to me in the form of humanity. Love came down and rescued me. As I emerged from darkness into light all heaven rejoiced. Now, years later, I still remember the dark world I once inhabited - a world of drugs, alcohol, self-centeredness and self-indulgence, failure, and eventually despair. At the young age of 21 I was in darkness and despair. I had flunked out of college, destroyed some relationships, and didn't have a clue about who I was or what, if anything, I was to do.
Then, one day, someone said these words to me: "God loves you." At that moment it was as if a drill bit had broken through the rock walls of my heart, revealing light from the land of the living. A hand reached forth. I took hold of it. I was lifted from death to life. My parents rejoiced.
Salvation is rescue. Salvation is redemption. Salvation is life. I was saved!
Today one miner said, "I'll never go back to mining again." And I have never gone back to the dark place I once was in. "Gracias Senor" is written on the front of the miners' t-shirts. Thank you God.
