Sink Hole Living
Living in Bowling Green, KY certainly has its unique
qualities. One of those is living over a huge cave
system. Bowling Green sits over one of the biggest
cave systems in the world. A large portion of the
city sits over Lost River Cave, and Mammoth Cave
National Park is only 40 minutes away.
With living over cave systems comes the problem of
sinkholes. These are places where the cave systems
erode so much that the ground collapses. These
sinkholes vary in size. Some of these are less that 4
feet wide and more than 60 feet deep, and others are
more shallow but wide enough to collapse buildings.
There have been sections of mall parking lots and
stretches of road that have collapsed with no warning.
That makes it a little "unsettling" at times (excuse
the pun).
Living on ground that is not solid is like walking on
thin ice. You never know when you might go through.
Deut. 32:4 says this about God: "He is the Rock, his
works are perfect, and all his ways are just." Matt.
7:24 tells us "..everyone who hears these words of
mine (Jesus) and puts them into practice is like a
wise man who built his house on the rock." When Jesus
asks his disciples "Who do you say that I am?",
Peter's answer is "You are the Christ, the son of the
Living God." Jesus then tells Peter in Matthew 16 that
this faith in Christ is what the church on earth is to
be founded on the rock that is to be build upon. The
Bible tells us that basing our faith and life upon the
solid rock of Jesus Christ is like standing on solid
ground. It also tells us that fools build their
houses on sand.
Isn't it sad that when it comes to faith, many people
live their existence over cave systems that give way
to sinkholes rather than living on solid ground. They
get caught up in the routines, the busy schedules, the
gadgets, the material successes, and find their
happiness in the emptiness of things. Job, success,
popularity, spouse, family, hobbies, career, etc, when
depended on for happiness and meaning become
sinkholes. Ultimately EVERYTHING in this life will
collapse. The only solid ground we have is our faith
in Jesus Christ. When we put other things in front of
God, we can expect an eventual collapse.
William Hiskey
William Hiskey is the Director of Youth Ministries at First English Lutheran Church in Spencer, IA.
Updated: 11/11/2003
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