The Only Permanent Place to Build

The U.S. Military had a fantastic plan during the Cold War.

They found a secret location which seemed perfect for basing nuclear-armed ballistic missiles closer to the Soviet border. And these missiles could be hidden from the USSR’s prying eyes.

What was the plan? The plan was to build extensive tunnels deep under Greenland’s ice sheets. These tunnels would lead to more than one thousand ballistic missile sites. In the event of nuclear war, these many missiles would be launched from below-the-surface silos and hurled over the North Pole toward the Soviet Union.

The location was officially known as Camp Century—a scientific project to determine the feasibility of living below the ice cap. But its real name was Project Ice Worm—a huge Top Secret ballistic missile platform.

Construction began in 1960. Along with offices and quarters for the Servicemen, the tunnels also included a hospital, an AAFES exchange, a theater, and a chapel. Even a mobile nuclear power plant (the first of its kind) was installed to provide electricity and heat.

Yet such elaborate plans to build a thousand missile sites beneath Greenland’s ice sheets were completely undone by one unforeseen problem. The ice sheet is not stable and permanent. It is constantly moving. Slowly but steadily the ice sheets are shifting from central Greenland outward to its coastline. Within a year after construction started, the existing tunnels became warped, curved, and narrow. The next year they collapsed. By 1966 the project had to be abandoned.

Now a new concern has arisen. The ice above the tunnels is melting away and is expected to fully expose Camp Century by the end of the century. This will not only uncover all its Top Secret structures. The melting ice will also expose its radioactive and biological waste, posing a serious threat to the local environment.

You know, we are constantly warned in Scripture to anchor and build our lives and plans in the rock-solid foundation of God and His word (e.g., Deut. 28; Prov. 3:5–6; Psalm 37:1–11, 16–20; Matt. 7:23–24). This present world, we are told in 1 John 2:15–17, is passing away. It’s changing, breaking down, even fading away. If all our hopes and dreams are focused only in this life then we will live our lives in fear and dread, as we watch the world crumble around us.

But if we place our lives in God’s hands and seek to do His will, we will build on the only permanent ground in the universe—God Himself and the heaven He is preparing for those who trust and serve Him. Jesus admonished us to, while this fleeting life remains, to store up for ourselves treasure in heaven by serving God and our fellow human beings (Matt. 6:19–21). Don’t invest everything in this fragile and temporary existence. Invest in the world to come.

PRAYER:

Dear Father in heaven, into Your loving arms I flee and trust in Your Son’s sacrifice for my sins. Please, dear Father, forgive my sins and wash me in Jesus’ blood. Write my name in Your book and prepare a place in heaven for me. And help me, O God, to henceforth live my life to please and honor You – and to bless my fellow man. Amen.