One Moment In Time

I got quite a scare tonight. I pulled into the church parking lot and saw a young man, Matt, riding his bicycle. He looked as if he had an obstacle course set up, swerving in and out between the cars and vans. I pulled around to pull into an open spot and just as my wheels turned, I heard the sound of a body colliding with a car – my car. It took a second for the thought to register. Matt had tried to get past my car before I turned. He miscalculated the amount of room he needed and ran right into the side of my car.

Thank God for collapsible mirrors. I managed to screech to a stop and give him room to recover. My mirror needed to be put back into place, but Matt didn’t have a scratch on him.

As I took my place on the piano bench a few minutes later, I thought how quickly two lives could have been changed in one moment. What if I’d been driving a bit faster or taken a sharper turn?

A lot can happen in a moment. A friend of mine lost control of her car on the interstate. Before she knew what happened, she crossed the median, cut across three lanes of on-coming traffic and wound up on the other side of the highway. Her car was damaged, but she had no physical injuries. Her mind took quite a beating though. For weeks afterward, she could play the accident over and over in her head, each time thanking God once again for His protection.

The apostle Paul spoke of a moment when a tremendous change will take place.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. I Corinthians 15:52

How fast does an eye twinkle? That’s how fast we’ll be changed. Our corruptible bodies will be made incorruptible, a suitable dwelling for our souls in heaven.

We have this promise because of a decision we make that only takes a moment. “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." How long does it take to acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Savior? Only a moment. But in that short amount of time, you pass from death to life. Your name is written in the book of life, and the angels begin to rejoice. What a moment!

I hope you’ve taken the time to make that decision. Every moment for the rest of your eternal life depends on it.

I’m going to take a few more minutes tonight to thank God for protecting Matt.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul, and reserving my place in Heaven. I praise You! In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.