We went in the Natural Entrance, which is a giant hole going down into the ground, with a path zig-zagging down as far as your eye can see. As you hike down that path it's truly indescribable the feeling of standing in this massive cavern, understanding you are beneath the earth, looking up to see the hole you entered through, the only source of natural light, slowly getting smaller and smaller above/behind you and countless miles of caverns beneath/ahead of you.As we reached the bottom of the descending path that we started on, the trail flattens out, but only for a minute, and then plunges again. Once more, I looked down, and the trail dove deeper into the earth as far as I could see. This happened probably two or three more times before we finally reached the "bottom" of the cave, but even at this point there were more tunnels and paths proceeding down farther. They were just blocked from the general population.
In the "Big Room" there were plaques overlooking a pit talking about the miles of caverns and tunnels that existed below purely for discovery and research, closed to the average person, and how there were still new caverns and passageways being discovered. Think about that. This place has been a National Park for almost 100 years and they are still discovering new parts of it.
In the "Big Room" we were 750 feet underground, that's approximately 75 stories or the height of the JP Morgan Chase Tower. In other words, were were way deep in the earth!
All in all the whole thing was incredible, and it got me thinking. This is just one cavern among hundreds or thousands of caves/caverns/tunnels underground around the world. It would be easy to imagine entire cities/civilizations able to live there (think any fantasy story with dwarfs). There are entire ecosystems, plants, animals, minerals, formations, ponds, lakes, etc.. that exist in these caverns, and all of it below the surface. Most of it will never be seen or experienced or even known about by most people on earth. So many people will live there lives on the surface, never knowing the vast world that exists if they were to just go deeper than the surface.
This is what it is like with God. When you think about the vast network of caverns on earth, and how that is just a small part of everything that makes up Earth, and how Earth is just one of several planets in our solar system, which is one of thousands in our galaxy, which is one of thousands in our universe, which we ultimately know very little about, and God crafted it all, you start to get a small idea of the vastness of God. Yet, so many people live completely on the surface, never diving deep into who God is, into His power. They either live their lives oblivious to God or they know He exists, but don't ever really experience Him. They are content to live on the surface level, never getting deep. And, this is true of so many Christians as well, true of myself at so many times.
God is infinite, and we are finite, which means there is no way that we can ever fully comprehend and know everything there is to know about God. It's impossible, but that's what's so amazing. We have an innate desire to know, to learn, and we have the opportunity to spend our entire existence learning about the one from which all knowledge originates.
God has given us the ability to know Him, though not fully. He has given us curiosity, and the ability to learn. He has made Himself available, and there is so much for us to know, to experience. Yet so often we are so content with living on the surface, maybe scratching in the dirt every so often or digging a hole in the sand on the beach, but never getting deep, never experiencing God for all He is and offers.
As it says in Psalm 42:7 "Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me." When we start to get deep into God, we will be called deeper, we will desire to go deeper, and deeper, and deeper, and there is more than enough for us to spend our entire lives going deeper, knowing God more, becoming more like Christ. What an adventure! However, it is not easy, and it can, at times be terrifying, dangerous even. Perhaps that's why we are so often content with the surface, it's safe, comfortable, familiar.
I challenge you, don't be content with the surface. Explore, Dive (or Hike) Deep!
"If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there."
-- Psalm 139:8
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
-- Ephesians 3:17b-19
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