I was greatly saddened by the turn of events in the West Virginia coal mine disaster. It was not just that 12 of 13 miners were found dead. It was that the families, because of a “miscommunication” had been led to believe for 3 hours that 12 had been found alive. They had spent 3 hours praising God for a miracle. When they heard the terrible news that 12 were in fact dead, many of them confessed that they were not sure anymore that they even had a Lord. I can understand.
I paid particular attention to this story because I was born and raised in West Virginia. I grew up in a coal mining region. One of my earliest memories is as a boy listening to news on the radio of a similar disaster in our community. I like everyone was listening for news as to how far underground the trapped miners might be located, how long it would be before they could be reached, whether or not they had enough oxygen....
Some years ago, I remember reading a coal miner’s account of being trapped underground, of his listening for signs of drilling, of wondering if rescuers could locate and reach him in time to save his life. One of the worst parts of the experience was being in total darkness. There is no place darker than a coal mine hundreds of feet underground. He had a battery powered light for a time, but it eventually gave out. From time to time, he would strike a match (even though the flame used oxygen) just so he could have a little light. Even that small amount of light would make all the difference in the world.
We live in a world which contains much darkness. As the Apostle Paul said, “We look through a glass darkly…” We Christians don’t have all the answers to life’s questions or tragedies. We only point out that the darkness is not total. We give witness to the Light we have received, even though sometimes it seems all too dim. We, like Herod, have seen the darkness of the night, but we, like the Wise Men, have also seen The Star.
©2006 C. David Hess
I paid particular attention to this story because I was born and raised in West Virginia. I grew up in a coal mining region. One of my earliest memories is as a boy listening to news on the radio of a similar disaster in our community. I like everyone was listening for news as to how far underground the trapped miners might be located, how long it would be before they could be reached, whether or not they had enough oxygen....
Some years ago, I remember reading a coal miner’s account of being trapped underground, of his listening for signs of drilling, of wondering if rescuers could locate and reach him in time to save his life. One of the worst parts of the experience was being in total darkness. There is no place darker than a coal mine hundreds of feet underground. He had a battery powered light for a time, but it eventually gave out. From time to time, he would strike a match (even though the flame used oxygen) just so he could have a little light. Even that small amount of light would make all the difference in the world.
We live in a world which contains much darkness. As the Apostle Paul said, “We look through a glass darkly…” We Christians don’t have all the answers to life’s questions or tragedies. We only point out that the darkness is not total. We give witness to the Light we have received, even though sometimes it seems all too dim. We, like Herod, have seen the darkness of the night, but we, like the Wise Men, have also seen The Star.
©2006 C. David Hess
