rambling

every passing minute is a chance to turn it all around.

when i first heard this line, in the movie vanilla sky, it hit me in the face. sure, it seems like the same sentiment told by countless other people from countless other sources. that at any given moment you could set changes in motion that would alter the course of your life. that you yourself could literally evolve yourself to become more than what you are. i’ll come back to that.

the interesting thing about the way it’s said and presented in this sentence is that it doesn’t break your destiny into a flow of days or months. the line isn’t “this month you could change everything.” what is a month, anyway, but an amalgam of moments and days, good moods and bad, energy and lethargy? a month is impossible to get your arms around, impossible to master and control. even a day sometimes has that vast quality, with its moments of sadness and hope, laughter and pain, and the many mundane activities, chores and responsibilities that we all lump into one abstraction.

but a minute. this minute. right now. nowhere to run. no far-off day, hour even, when we’re convinced things will change for real…for good. thinking things will change next week leaves time for things to stay the same. a minute seems to be something we can control, because there is nothing else but that moment. the decision you make in the next 60 seconds could be one to alter your life, or it could be one to remain the same.

i guess the question is how. or perhaps more accurately, what. what do you change? what first step do you take to resolve the inconsistent longings of your heart? there is only one that will yield any significant result: surrender. surrender your life, your will, your need to Jesus Christ, who is and forevermore will be the One you seek, and the One who gives Life to life. chained to Christ you will have no choice but to change your life. it is the defining moment of life, or it is the lack of a defining moment in life. submit yourself, then, to God…and he will lift you up. not unto your desires, but unto that which will bring him glory.

submit yourself to God every minute, lest you stay apart from him. the true change begins upon surrender, surrender which must take place every minute. true submission is not a battle of motives and desires, seeking to compromise. there is no compromise. either you are in submission to God, or you are in rebellion against him.

this minute is another opportunity to turn it all around.

this minute is another opportunity to choose: submit to God, or continue in rebellion against Him.