Descending into the belly of the earth

At 11:18 PM on October 12, 2010, Manuel González made one of the gutsiest moves I’ve ever watched on live television. He descended 700 meters (more than 2,000 feet) below the Atacama Desert into a collapsed mine. While the world held its breath, Manuel went deep into a highly unstable mineshaft to help rescue 33 Chilean miners who had been trapped in a cavern for 69 days.

When Manuel went into that mineshaft, there was no guarantee that he would survive. By this daring act, he was placing himself in the exact same life-threatening condition that had led to worldwide efforts to rescue the 33 miners barely hanging on to life. Manuel was not the only rescuer to descend into that cave. However, if the earth continued to move when Manuel reached the cavern, he, along with the other 33 miners, would undoubtedly die. As I watched this riveting moment on live television, I wondered what would make Manuel willing to place his life on the line and descend into the chaos and dark chances of survival. Manuel's actions inspired people worldwide.

Something resonates with everyone who watched this 2010 Chilean Mine Rescue. Perhaps the whole world watched this mine rescue because we all know these 33 miners did nothing wrong to cause this collapse. There are moments in life when the world closes in around us.

Life is full of pits and difficulties. One moment, everything in life seems to be going your way, and the next, you trip and fall into a pit. Sometimes, you create the pit that you eventually fall into. Often, we fall into pits that have nothing to do with our mistakes or failures. No matter how hard you try to avoid them, occasionally you will find yourself in the pits of life.

Some pits are shallow and require a little effort to escape. Others are dark, deep, and too difficult for us to escape alone. When you fall into life's deepest pits, you need a helping hand to lift you out. Can you imagine what it felt like for those miners when the dirt started to fall on their heads as the drill reached the trapped miners?

The T130Xd drill succeeded in reaching the miners three weeks after the collapse. From that moment, rescuers started to send food and basic supplies into the cavern to save the lives of these 33 men. However, world experts agreed that at some point, they would have to send someone from the surface into that cavern to rescue these 33 men safely. I can only assume Manuel went into that Chilean mine because he understood the fear and helplessness those miners felt.

Manuel should be lauded as a hero. During those two months, most of the world watched daily updates as experts tried to devise and test a solution to rescue those miners. Just watching the world bring its resources together to rescue these miners was a beautiful moment for humanity. Organizations and government agencies worldwide, including NASA, focused their resources on finding a solution to rescue these 33 men.

Ultimately, any rescue would have to be done in person. This is what makes Manuel such a hero in my book. He descended into the belly of the earth to help those stranded get out of the pit. We all need people like Manuel in our lives.

We all know people willing to offer sound advice or even modest efforts to help when we fall into the pit. However, your most incredible friends love you enough to willingly put themselves in danger by entering the pit with you. Our pit is what separates walking with Jesus from all other religions and faith systems. Jesus doesn’t point fingers and laugh when his people fall into the pit. Jesus doesn’t criticize when we fall into a pit. He doesn’t even offer a solution to get out of the pit on our own.

Like Manuel was willing to leave the safety of the earth’s surface and go into the collapsed mine, Jesus Christ was willing to leave Heaven and descend into our pit here on Earth to rescue us from a pit of our making. Following Jesus is fundamentally different from practicing any other religion. At the most basic level, Jesus descends into our pit to show us the way out.