The Next Minute

The last several days the entire world was watching, waiting, hoping, that the submersible named Titan, and its five crew members would be rescued. Yesterday we received tragic news: the vessel had imploded and all five persons on board had been killed. Just think, one minute they were diving toward their destination to see the sunken remains of the Titanic, and the next minute, unexpectedly, they were gone. One minute they were full of excitement in their adventure, and the next minute, they were no more. Alive one minute, dead the next.

This week’s ocean tragedy reminded me of our minutes. We have intentions and make agendas in one minute, but the next is never promised. It’s harsh to think of it, but death can take any of us in any minute. We rarely see it coming. James 4:14 says it so well, “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? You life is like the morning mist — it’s here for a little while, then it’s gone.” I am challenged in my own heart to make my minutes count.

All of our lives are composed of minutes. We make plans in those minutes. We do the exciting in those minutes. We do the mundane day to day living in those minutes. Love and hate takes place in minutes. Joy and sadness comes to us in minutes. We have the minute we live in; no one is promised the next minute.

I want to show love in this minute because it may be my last. I want to speak kindly and with patience in this minute because I may not have the next. I want to keep my thoughts focused on the ways of Jesus this minute, because in the next I may meet Him face to face; therefore, I want to be ever ready, not “shrinking back in shame,” as we are reminded in I John 2:28.

May you and I treasure this minute, may we share the love of Jesus this minute, may we let our light shine in the darkness this minute, may we speak the Good News in every opportunity this minute gives, may we be generous this minute. We have this minute. May we all be ready in the love of God in our every moment, because none of us are promised the next minute.