March/April 2001
Common Ground
by Joseph Tkach
Tombstone, Arizona was founded as a mining camp when silver ore was found there. Mines were created by tunneling straight into the sides of hills or mountains, or by digging a vertical shaft straight down into the ground with a system of horizontal passages extending out from the vertical shaft.
One morning, two miners went down one of these shafts. Not far away, at another mine, blasting was taking place. A heavy charge was set off, causing the earth to quake. The result was a complete cave-in of the shaft that the two miners had descended. Their bodies were never recovered. The mine became their tomb.
The tragedy was forgotten a couple of decades later when a building was constructed nearby. Shortly after its completion, its foundation caved in!
The building was constructed atop the abandoned underground mine where the two miners had died. The weight of the building caused the foundation to cave into a subterranean chamber below.
The builders were taken to task for not having properly checked out the site. "Who builds a foundation on a hole in the ground?" the incredulous townsfolk demanded. It's a valid question when it comes to architecture, but in the spiritual realm, it's another matter.
Who builds a foundation on a hole in the ground? God does! The church -- God's spiritual building -- is built on the foundation of a "hole in the ground" -- the Empty Tomb of Jesus Christ! No foundation is more stable and secure!
Jesus arose from the grave and exposed its emptiness. On that fact we can confidently build the superstructure of our life.