Miracle! Salvation! What's the world coming to?

The big story of the past week has been, understandably, the rescue of the Chilean miners after 69 days underground in conditions that were far from ideal!  But it's the language that the newspaper headline writers have been using that I have found equally interesting. In a 'post-Christian', humanistic, materialistic, culture like that of the UK, it is strange to see words such as 'miracle' and 'salvation' emblazoned across our national press!

It does, of course, fly right in the face of what is pushed at us so regularly.  The so-called miraculous can always be explained; 'salvation' is merely part of the name of a uniformed organisation that has a lot of brass bands; religion in general, and Christianity in particular, is an outdated, useless, concept.

And then a group of miners, in a lonely desert, in a country that many people would be unable to pinpoint on a map of the world, are trapped by a cave-in, at 2,300 feet, and feared to be dead.  It is only after some 17 days that it is discovered that they are alive, and claim to be all well!  A major rescue attempt is put into operation and, eventually (and much earlier than originally expected) the man are raised, one-by-one, to the surface.

But, of course, it is the testimony of so many of these man that must cause some consternation to those who seek to deny the very existence of God.  Certainly, the comments made by the usual sceptics seem to have missed the point that these men are the ones who were there!  Mario Gomez, at 63 years of age the oldest of the miners, knelt in prayer when he reached the surface.  Alex Vega gave 'two thumbs up' before embracing his wife for a long time, and then showing his tee-shirt - emblazoned with “Gracias Senor” or “Thank you God”.  Jose Henriquez, the 24th to be rescued, is a 54-year-old preacher who has worked in mining for 33 years. He became the miners' pastor and organised daily prayers.

Now, of course, no-one is claiming that every single miner was/is a disciple of Jesus.  The one whose wife discovered his infidelity when his mistress appeared at the head of the mine-shaft at the beginning of the ordeal would certainly not appear to fit into that category!  But a lot of them appear to have had some level of faith that, in spite of their predicament - not, by the way, caused by God, but by what appears to have been slip-shod safety regulations (or a lack thereof!); the result, it could be argued, of the free-will that God gave mankind right at the beginning - there was One Whose hand was still upon them, and who would bring them safely through.  I am unsure as to how something like that 'evolves' from a 'lower' level!

So, let's be grateful for the skill and determination of those men who planned and executed the rescue.  But let us also, like so many of the miners, give thanks to the God of grace.  And let's pray that all of those involved will come to a deeper, and more personal, knowledge of Him Who came to enact the greatest miracle of all - dying for the salvation of a sinful mankind, and rising from the dead to live for evermore.