A group of fifteen geology students from Clemson University, along with their university instructor and cave guide, George Russell, climbed down the long flights of stairs to the entrance of Hidden River Cave in Kentucky. Little did they know that their educational trip would end up as a race against death!
The entrance of the cave is at the bottom of a large sinkhole 150 feet below ground level. Before entering the cave at 10 a.m., the guide checked out the most recent weather forecast on his smartphone. It called for light showers to arrive later in the evening. He figured there was nothing to worry about. The group would be out of the cave by 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
The entrance of the cave was about the size of the side of a barn. When they passed through the entrance, they could hear running water, and after their eyes adjusted to the dim light, they could see the outlines of the underground river. Leaving this cavern for a side passage, they switched on their LED lights on the front of their helmets in order to see in the pitch darkness.
The Hidden River Cave has miles and miles of passageways that twist and turn through a bank of limestone. As they moved along, every once in a while the narrow passage would open up into a big cavern. Here and there they would also see a trickle of water coming out of the walls or falling from the ceiling. The floor of the cave sloped gently upwards from the entrance. They saw long stalactites and stalagmites which had been formed from dripping water, leaving minute sediments over many long centuries. The instructor would stop occasionally and point out interesting features of the cave, and the students would take notes as he talked.
Inside the cave, a hundred or more feet below the surface of the earth, the group seemed to be in a world of their own. Cell phones or radios don’t function deep inside caves. They had no way to communicate with the outside world, even if they were so inclined.
After hiking for two hours into the interior of the cave, unknown to the hikers, the weather above them suddenly took a turn for the worse. A torrential rain started falling. Without contact with the outside world, they had no idea what was going on. The unexpected deluge filled creeks and riverbeds. It began flowing in great amounts through the porous limestone and into the cave. Suddenly, the little trickles of water that seeped out of the cave walls grew into shooting waterfalls. Water seemed to come cascading out of the cave walls everywhere and flooded the passageways.
George Russell and his students realized they were in trouble and immediately began to retrace their steps. At times they walked through knee-deep water, and at other times the water came all the way up to their necks. With danger all around them, the lamps on their helmets seemed pitifully insufficient to light up the darkness. How easy it would be to turn down a wrong passageway and get lost!
Our Rising Danger
You will probably never have to deal with getting trapped deep underground in the darkness of a cave, with water rising all around you, but there is a darkness even more foreboding and menacing that you will have to deal with. It is the darkness of sin. Sin brings people into spiritual darkness, because sin is opposed to God just as darkness is opposed to light. The darkness of sin, unfortunately, is all around us. Lying, hatred, violence, promiscuity, boasting, lack of respect, covetousness (as well as other sins) seem to pour into our lives like a flood that threatens to sweep us away.
And it will sweep us away too if we remain in it. God in His Word says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). That is, God the righteous Judge of the whole universe is going to see that every person gets what is coming to them. How will He judge those who have never repented of the evil they have done? They will hear Him say, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:4141Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (Matthew 25:41)). Hell is a real place, populated by real people who got trapped in the darkness of sin and never got out.
When will this death and judgment happen for you? It might be a day, a week or even years away. But it is getting closer with every passing moment. Since you don’t know the exact time of its arrival, the only sensible thing to do is to repent and believe on the name of Jesus right now at this present moment! When the water started rushing into the cave, the group of students knew they had to get out immediately. You know that you are a sinner and judgment is looming somewhere ahead of you, don’t wait another moment to get out either! Come to Christ, the Savior of sinners, before another second goes by.
You need to come to Him who said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:1212Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)). The Lord Jesus is the light of the world, because He was God and man in the same person. As a man, He fully revealed God His Father in all He did and said. While He walked the earth, He was perfect goodness (light), moving in the midst of evil (darkness). Those who follow Him by believing on His name and keeping His commandments leave the darkness of sin behind and enter into His marvelous light.
Is the guilt of your sin more than you can bear? On the cross Jesus suffered and died so His blood could wash that guilt away. Were your sins ten thousand times darker than they actually are, the blood of Jesus Christ could still wash them whiter than snow!
Are you afraid of death? He shed light brighter than the brightest day on the darkness of death when He arose from the grave. Those who believe on Christ will live with Him forever. Never, never, do they need to be afraid of death.
Does darkness seem to cover any part of your life? Come to Christ, and He who is the light of the world will dispel the darkness and drive it away.
Never Been Happier
After hiking into the cave for two hours and then another four hours of retracing their steps through the flooded passageways, the group rounded a bend in the cave and were flooded with relief by light shining from the entrance.
“I’ve never been happier to see the sunlight,” a young man named Foster said. “It was such a good feeling to have when you round the corner and see the light and know you’re going to make it out. What a relief!”
Leaving sin’s darkness by coming to the Lord Jesus who is the Light is a great relief too.
It is a relief to come to Christ as a sinner and find the forgiveness of sins!
It is a relief as a forgiven sinner to see sin for the parasitical thing it really is, renounce it, and then begin to follow God’s direction. “The entrance of Thy words giveth light” (Psalm 119:130130The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. (Psalm 119:130)).
And it will be a great relief to leave this world completely behind and enter the immediate presence of the Lord Jesus Christ for all eternity! The light of glory will fully illuminate the hearts and minds of all those in heaven.
I want to go through life so that, rounding the last corner of my life, I see Jesus, the light of the world, waiting to welcome me into His eternal home. Heaven will be full of His wonderful light.
Won’t you come to Him? Coming to the Lord Jesus is the only way to escape the darkness of sin, death and hell, and all those who follow Him will have the light of life.
Never shows how ignoring the way of escape can be pretty costly.