When there didn’t seem to be
any more gold to mine on the level being mined, they started a new level below
it because the seams went straight down, but before they abandoned a level they
used Diamond drills to explore further into the rock face to see if there was
more gold that they didn’t know about. The Diamond drill head is a metal cylinder
a little larger than the cardboard cylinder inside a toilet roll; its end is
made of metal thicker than that cardboard and the whole circle is embedded with
industrial diamonds which are very hard and when rotated cut through the rock
and a “core,” or sample, of the rock goes inside the cylinder. The drill is
frequently withdrawn and the core is removed and examined and if it looks good
is sent to the Assay office for testing.
That all sounds simple but the drill is
influenced by the softness or make up of the rock and may veer to the left or
right or up or down. Therefore, although the sample of ore might be valuable,
the way to reach it can be confusing, so frequently the diamond head was
replaced by a head that had a compass in it with florescent tip and a piece of
photo film, and beside it a vial (small bottle) half full of acid. The drill with this head on it was pushed to
the end of the hole and left for a while thus, the film when developed, indicated
which way the drill hole was pointing and the bottle, marked by the acid, showed
whether the hole was going up, down, or was horizontal. Crude compared to
to-days equipment, I suppose, but it worked, highlighting how outside
influences could prevent the miners reaching the Gold if they were not careful.
This same principle is very evident in our lives; the “Gold” that we are aiming
at could be a particular job, our marriage, the establishment of a business, or
our Eternal life, and in each case we have to be aware of outside influences
that could lead us in the wrong direction. On a number of occasions People have
said to me about their life, “I don’t think God would mind if I did…………” so
they go ahead and do what they are planning, and it may be quite all right too,
on the other hand it may not be what God would approve of, and there is only
one way to be sure and that is to see if it agrees with the New Testament, and
that is why I am always advising people to read it for themselves so they can
be guided by its directions.
Many years ago, before the
Metric system of measures was introduced into Australia, I was driving on a
back country road that connected two towns when I came to a railway level
crossing, it was out on an open plain and you could see that there were no
trains in either direction and the only other vehicle visible was a car a long
way behind me, so I drove over the crossing at the normal road speed thinking
that I had done no wrong. A short while later the car behind me which (wouldn’t
you know it) just happened to be a police car, pulled me over. “Driver, you
went over that railway crossing in excess of 15 miles per hour” the policeman
said. “Yes I suppose I did” I replied, “but I didn’t know of that speed limit,
and besides there were no trains visible so I considered it safe”. “Well” he
said, “lack of knowledge of the law is no excuse, you are supposed to know the
law, and whether there are trains visible or not, has nothing to do with it”. He
was right, of course, and manmade rules like that change from time to time, but
if we intend using the roads we have an obligation to keep abreast of those
rules.
Thankfully, God’s rules
don’t change and when you think of it from God’s perspective, anyone who is
capable of reading, but cannot be bothered spending some time to familiarise
themselves with His New Testament instruction book, (which is really a love
story addressed to them), is forfeiting their right to partake of the wonderful
gifts he offers, and their life is bound to veer off the straight path that
leads to that “Gold”. (Like that drill when left uncontrolled).
Just a few thoughts that I
felt might be helpful. Best wishes, Tom.
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