May 10, 2013 (Friday)
“Christ brought us together through his death on the cross” — Ephesians 2:16 MSG
On this day, May 10, one hundred forty-four years ago, at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, a meaningful historic ceremony was held. A golden spike united the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad, and travel by train between the East Coast and the West Coast was made possible. Before the railroad was completed, people traveled west in wagon trains (or they took a long, long trip by sailing ship). The journey was long and filled with danger. In 1869, the two coasts with their own cultures, each different from the other, were brought together. The Transcontinental railroad became a reality.
Three years before the ceremony, the two railroads worked eastward from Sacramento and westward from Omaha to complete the railway. They laid nearly 2,000 miles of track.
“Harsh winters, staggering summer heat, Indian raids and the lawless, rough-and-tumble conditions of newly settled western towns made conditions for the Union Pacific laborers–mainly Civil War veterans of Irish descent–miserable. The overwhelmingly immigrant Chinese work force of the Central Pacific also had its fair share of problems, including brutal 12-hour work days laying tracks over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On more than one occasion, whole crews would be lost to avalanches, or mishaps with explosives would leave several dead.” *
The workers’ suffering and sacrifice made possible rapid growth of the nation because of the speed with which people could then travel east and west.
Devotional Thought: Spikes driven through wood ties brought the nation together in 1869. Big nails, much like spikes, were driven through the hands and feet of Jesus almost two thousand years earlier, providing a way for God and man to reach each other. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Everyone knew that crucifixion was a way to punish sin, “but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5 NIV). Jesus told the world of his day, “If I be lifted up (upon the cross), I will draw all men to myself” (John 13:32). “Though millions have come, there’s still room for one–yes, there’s room at the cross for you!”
* Paragraph quoted from History.com