52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet…
In an age when we measure time in nanoseconds the meaning and significance of this phrase could get missed. Paul is writing about the still future time when Jesus will return and believers, both dead and alive will be changed and enter His Kingdom. That change will take place so fast that it will be impossible to measure. The highest speed camera will not be able to capture the moment of change. Instantaneous transformation. Only at that moment will the sting of death be vanquished completely. And it takes place in an instant. We see this type of drama played out in movies and in some of our lives. One moment someone is alive, the next moment they are dead. No half-dead, or half-alive. Pregnant or not pregnant. At a future moment change will take place. Those who have trusted Jesus’ work on the cross as sufficient to pay for their sins will be instantaneously changed from one who is subject to death to one over whom death has not hold. And it all takes place in an instant. God doesn’t need time to act. Since He is apart from the restrictions of time and space, He can act in an instant. He doesn’t need to use time. I just wish that the transformational process that started more than thirty years ago when I became a Jesus-follower worked faster. The problem is not God’s ability, but my inability to step out of time. When I make decisions to yield myself, to surrender my will, it takes time, moments of time. As I grow and mature, both of which take time, God continues the refining process in me, taking time. So when you get discouraged at the long time it is taking for you to get your life in line with God’s will, remember, it takes time. We are the ones dragging our feet through time, not God. So make the most of our time and actively yield to His moving in our time.
The Arnold Journey 