Skip to main content

If he only knew what was about to happen

Fourteen of us gathered together on Easter Sunday to celebrate a meal together.  The big screen TV was locked onto basketball and the men of the room fixed their gazes to Duke vs. Louisville.  Little did Kevin Ware know (basketball player for Louisville) that his life was about to be turned upside down.  It’s not unusual to hear an uproar from my family as they watch sporting events, but the sudden cries that reverberated through the house alerted everyone that something horrific had just been witnessed.  Without warning, Kevin Ware leaped to block a shot, came down on his leg wrong and it snapped.  It was difficult to watch.  The other members of the family came running in wanting to know what happened.  With the new age of TV, it was easy to rewind the live event and relive the horrific injury. 

The comment that stood out to me as we fixed our eyes on jersey #5 was, “if he only knew what was about to happen in the next 5 seconds”.   Wow, that hit me right between the eyes.  We don’t know what is waiting for us around the corner.  All the hopes and dreams and plans we have could be shattered in an instant. 

Sitting in the room among my family was my niece.  Only 8 days before, she had lost her baby at 24 weeks.   This morning as I was taking the kids to work, a fire rescue vehicle followed by a police car passed us at an intersection.  An serious accident had just occurred a block from our house, at the very intersection we use daily.  You don’t know what tomorrow or even today holds. 

Does that mean we shouldn’t risk?   Does it mean we shouldn’t live?  No, it is a great reminder to put our perspective and focus on the One who holds our tomorrows.  It means using every minute you have to please God and be satisfied in Him.  It means clinging to the God of grace when tragedy does strike and resting in His sovereign arms.  It is a stern reminder to live this moment for the splendor of His name, not allowing these next 5 seconds to be wasted. 

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.” James 4: 14a

“Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Eccl. 12:13b

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Phil. 1:21

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spiritual Influencers

According to the Nashville Film Institute’s website ( www.nfi.edu ) top influencers can earn anywhere from $40,000 a year with a modest following to celebrity influences that can earn over a million dollars per post .  They yield a persuasive power over their followers to redirect focus and entice the follower to buy or believe in whatever they are promoting.  Most of us have some realm of influence.  It may be family, friends, co-workers, social media, church, sports, online, etc.  As we emerge from the COVID Cocoon, we need to be “spiritual influencers”.  Imagine how many of us have suffered loss during COVID.  Do you know how many people are battling depression?  How many are struggling to pay their sky-rocketing rent?  There is real pain, real suffering and a serious lack of HOPE all around.  People are desperate for hope, help and genuine love.  They are ready to buy into anything that an influencer will peddle.  Envision a hos...
Post a Comment
Read more

If I Could Turn Back Time for 13 Seconds

     In the Star Trek parody Galaxy Quest , they had a device called the Omega-13 that could turn back time for 13 seconds.  What good is 13 seconds you ask?  It’s enough time to change one mistake.  As you might guess, they had a chance to use it and redeem a life altering oversight.          I often wish that my future self could come back and talk to my present self.   Imagine the mistakes I could avoid.   How often do we say to ourselves, “I wish I hadn’t done that” or “I wish I had done…”   Lately I have been trying to work out in the mornings.   It sounds great the night before, but when that alarm goes off, I only have about 3 seconds to thrust my feet over the side of the bed before I tell Alexa to wake me up in an hour.        Since the Omega-13 device only lives in Hollywood, it seems to me I need to make the right decisions at the right time.  Here’s a couple of things...
Post a Comment
Read more

To the Clouds: Faith is Gazing at the Heart of God (part 3)

What motivates you?  You are who you are because...?  Before you read another sentence, take a moment to answer that question (I’ll wait).  Do you have an answer?  I have all the time in the world if you aren’t ready.  Ready?  Great, let’s begin. When it comes to things that motivate us, our answers are probably as diverse as we are.  However, I suspect that money, family, love and God are high on most lists.  The writer of Hebrews excites our Christian faith as we are reminded of the great Heroes of Faith in chapter 11.  He wants to motivate us to be the next Abraham, Moses and Enoch.  They seem larger than life yet the goal of finishing strong seems to be within our grasp.  Read with me the next two verses that follow that great chapter on faith.    “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance t...
1 comment
Read more