In the Twinkling of An Eye

“Listen! A mystery! We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye… For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised.” – 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

The time it takes to think a sweet thought and have its sweetness gleam in your eyes. The time it takes to think a naughty thought and have that little wickedness flash across your face. Scripture claims that’s all the time God needs to change everything. A moment. The twinkling of an eye. That’s all it takes for the dead to be raised, for death to give way to life.

If that sounds implausible to you, remember this—a moment is all it takes for life to give way to death. The twinkling of an eye. One second there’s breath, the next there’s none. You can sit by a hundred deathbeds and no matter how long it takes the dear people in them to decline, it’s the same. There’s always that one stunning instant—now breath, now no breath, the twinkling of an eye. If life can be extinguished in a moment, surely a moment is all God needs to make life new.

We don’t know the moment God will choose to accomplish the good it would take us forever to do. It could be any moment. It could be every moment. Which is why no moment is indifferent, none inconsequential. Which is why it’s important to be in the moment and attend to the moment. Which is why it matters when by all manner of evasions we waste God’s precious time.

Prayer

For every moment, for every breath, for every twinkling of an eye, for life and for eternal life, we thank you, Living God.

About the Author
Mary Luti is a long time seminary educator and pastor, author of Teresa of Avila’s Way and numerous articles, and founding member of The Daughters of Abraham, a national network of interfaith women’s book groups.