Of mine explosions and eternityIt happened again last week. News stories filled with the heroic efforts to save miners trapped by a sudden mishap far below the ground where most folks walk. This time, the mine was in Australia — and they lived. Just a few months ago, the nation held its breath while rescuers tried to save 13 miners closer to home, finding 12 of the men dead and one barely hanging on. The rescue attempt, I hear, was the stuff of movies — common men working day and night, employing all their skills not to mine West Virginia coal, but to mine miners. My great-grandfather was a West Virginia miner — and for him, the rescue attempt was unsuccessful. An explosion, a cave-in, a long wait … then the bad air came. Today, mining is far safer. But despite all the advances in safety technology, accidents are inevitable. And folks ask why anyone would enter such a dangerous profession.But look around. We all live just one breath away from eternity. Think of our truckers or farmers, surrounded by countless opportunities for a catastrophic accident. What of those who work with high voltage that can arc or chemicals that can explode? What of the infectious diseases that threaten our hospitals — or even the escaped bull that dashes into the path of an unsuspecting shopper’s car, killing her before she gets her groceries home? The possibility for sudden death is more obvious in a mine. But despite its camouflage in the ordinary flow of everyday life, that possibility is no less real for any of us. When my great-grandfather, who died in 1927, and one of his fellow miners left notes describing the bad air, awareness of death’s approach, his dreams for his children’s future. But most of all, he testified — repeatedly — of his hope in the Lord. He assured his family and those of the handful who were with him that they "had plenty of time to make peace with the Lord." Not everyone has time to search his soul before the end comes. Not everyone can leave a note assuring loved ones that he is in Christ. Not everyone is blessed with daily reminders that death is near. But we each live in the shadow of death as surely as if we wore helmets with lights on them and carried a canary to work. And one day the floor of our mine will rumble, the dust will rise, and our end will come. The question is, will we be ready to leave this world? Will we be sure of meeting the Lord in heaven? Now is the time; this is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 1:6; Isaiah 55:6-7). Rather than waiting until the ground shudders, find your peace with Christ now. And when that day does come, you can face it without fear. In Christ, God has redeemed you. "In life and in death, you are His." (Ps. 32:6-7)