Shared with me by my fellow patriot and friend Lynn B. Thank you, Dr. D
"Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Cor. 12:3)
I was one of a group of pastors invited to attend the Upper Big Branch Coal miner’s memorial yesterday, here in Beckley, West Virginia. At first, I was hesitant to attend, fearing the memorial would be a glorified photo-op for politicians. Knowing the President and Vice President and other politicians were to be in attendance, I believed their presence would overshadow the focus on the miners and their families. The rare appearance of the duo together would suck the air out of any room or venue. After much prayer, however, I decided to attend, hoping I could once again visit with the families I had prayed with at the mine.
I believe all of us who were skeptical about the President’s visit were pleasantly surprised how low key his presence actually was. The entrance of all the elected officials was not met with any kind of fanfare. In fact, they marched in quite austerely, waiting in the front of the auditorium for the families to enter.
One by one the names of the twenty-nine miners were called out, as all in attendance stood and applauded out of respect. The applause was sustained as the individual families walked in and were greeted and consoled by the Governor. The President stood off to the side as each family went directly to Govenor Joe Manchin for comfort. Each had the opportunity to meet the President, yet the majority sought out the Governor. It was obvious that Governor Manchin had earned the respect of the miners families by his marathon presence at the Upper Big Branch mi ne. The President was a familiar and famous face but the face of the Governor was that of family.
We sat directly behind the families so we could see their reactions to each of the speeches. In fact, one family whom I prayed with at the mine was directly in front of me. We had a chance to share words of comfort with them. When President Obama approached the rostrum the only cheering was from a group of visitors in the upper rows of seats. It was quite out of place and inappropriate. The miner’s families were respectful of the President but not overly impressed. It was also very obvious to them that visiting dignitaries were reading from carefully edited speeches written by others.
What got their attention and frankly had the greatest impact on the families, were the words from someone whose picture was not on the front page of today’s newspapers. They were from West Virginia State Trooper Chaplain, Jim Mitchell. He is not only a fine State Trooper, but a man of God with a pastor’s heart. I saw Jim many times at the mine praying and consoling families. On that Friday night, just before it was announced that there were no survivors, Jim led the families in a solemn prayer. At the memorial, when Jim went to the stage there was a hush in the crowd. They knew him as they knew the Governor and others. He was not a guest but family. They had suffered and cried together at the mine. No professional speech writer penned his remarks, he spoke from the heart. Choking back tears of grief, this mountain of a man in his green Trooper uniform shared the only words he knew that would bring real comfort, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He boldly and unashamedly told of Jesus Christ the only Savior, who had conquered the grave. Different from the sentimental words of Vice President Joe Biden, who said the fallen miners had now become angels and were now watching over their families, Jim shared the real truth about life after death and the real hope of salvation and resurrection. In times of grief, folklore, tales and platitudes do not bring hope but the real gospel does! As I looked at the families faces, it was obvious that God was healing those broken hearts and bringing hope. Trooper Mitchell was not trying to impress anyone; he was simply speaking directly to the families from God’s Word.
It was not Trooper Mitchell’s intent in any way to embarrass anyone, but I believe, the very man who declared “We are no longer a Christian nation” found that in West Virginia we not ashamed to say, “Jesus is Lord.”
