Iron Foundry Burn

 

In 1972 I began working for Mueller Company in Chattanooga Tennessee.  Mueller was an iron foundry, the work was hot and heavy, but it paid well.  I had this theory: if I was going to give a part of my life to work, it had better pay well.  My first day at work, I was issued a box-full of safety equipment, which should have been a warning of things to come.  I noticed that most of the men were wearing bibbed overhauls, and I soon found out why.  The company made cast iron fire hydrants and large gate valves.  Moist sand was packed around wooden patterns, and then the two forms, cope and drag (top and bottom) were mated to produce the mold into which liquid iron was poured.  The iron was about 2800°.  If it was too cold, it glowed a reddish color; if it was too hot, it was a bright yellow color.  After a month of training, I was assigned to pour iron on the MoldMaster, an automatic machine that made the fire hydrants.  As I poured the iron, often it would splatter looking like fireworks (on steroids).  A droplet of iron splashed on my hardhat, rolled down into the back of my shirt, and stopped at my belt and sizzled.  But the sizzling was me!  Before I could get my belt and pants off, it had cooked the flesh just at my waist.  I went to first aid, and the nurse removed an iron pellet the size of a BB that left a red burn the size of a dime.  I still have a scar from that burn (no picture, PG-13).  Hey, the Lord Jesus talked about hell more than He talked about heaven.  And that day at Mueller, I understood a little about hell.  That tiny burn hurt me for weeks.  But what about burning forever and forever?!  Jesus warned us of hell and said in Mark 9:44, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”  But then Jesus went on to say in verse 46, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”  Same words exactly!  And then Jesus said in verse 48, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”  Again, the very same words!  So, is Jesus letting us know how serious He is about hell?  Yes, He is!  If Jesus said it once, it is true, but three times?!  Hey, trust Jesus and live with Him forever.  Don’t be separated from God forever and forever.