For the past 77 days 33 miners have been trapped 640m underground in a mine with no hope of self rescue. Meanwhile above, there has been a relentless mission to rescue them, involving complex drilling machines and an army of people. A few days ago, the drills broke through and the rescue started using a tiny capsule to haul them out one by one. At last overnight, the last of the 33 miners is free and in the light. The sixth to be rescued, Mario Sepulveda, said “I think I had extraordinary luck. I was with God and with the Devil – and I reached out for God. It’s incredible they saved us from 700metres below. But I never doubted we would get out alive.”

Some of them are carrying some medical baggage and one has some consequences still to face as he meets both his mistress and wife in the light!

What a modern day parable, we had no hope in our situation, in the darkness, with many as Thoreau put it living lives of quiet desperation. God started the rescue mission, pulled out all the stops, sending Jesus to be the one who would rescue us, by dying for our sin. God was relentless in his pursuit of us, because of His love for us. Like the Chilean rescues, he used many people to get to you, different lines of drilling down to woo you with His love and mercy. And once you stepped into the rescue capsule by trusting in him, He brought you permanently into the light – no going back!

There may be things from the past we will have to deal with – consequences for sin that will last on earth, though forgiven in heaven. And it can take a while to adjust to the light and learn to use faith muscles that haven’t had any use in the dark. But what joy, what hope, what an adventure and second chance awaits!

(Thanks to Duncan Le Roux for bringing something close to that as an exhortation at our Sunday gathering!)