A BLOG by Shane Pruitt
If I only had four minutes to live, what would I say?
There is a book in the New Testament called 2 Timothy. I’ve been reading it a lot lately, and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorites. The apostle Paul wrote this letter to his son in ministry, Timothy, who is a young pastor in Ephesus. This letter is the last known writing of Paul before his martyrdom at the hands of Nero.
Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment for a short period of time during which he wrote 1 Timothy and Titus. However, 2 Timothy finds Paul once again in a Roman prison apparently rearrested as part of Nero’s persecution of Christians. During Paul’s first imprisonment, his writings contained a lot of confidence and hope that he would be released. However, in 2 Timothy, you see no such hope of being released. Paul seemed to know that his impending death was certain. I look at this book as Paul’s last Will and Testament. It’s almost like Paul was given a pen and paper and told, “This will be your last letter. What do you want people to know? What are the last words you’d like to share with them?”
In his letter, aware that the end was near, Paul passed on many beautiful truths to young Timothy. But, at the end of his letter he closes with two very important statements:
- Don’t worry about me because I’m going to be with Jesus. “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18).
- This Lord that I’ve known and have possessed will continue to be with you, even when I’m gone. “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you” (2 Timothy 4:22).
Wow! I’ve read that a lot lately with tears in my eyes. It caused me to reflect on what I would say. What would I want my wife, children, loved ones, the faith family of C3 Rowlett, absolute strangers, etc. to hear from me if I only had 4 minutes left to live?
First I’d take a quick 15 seconds to kiss my wife, look each of my three children in the eyes and tell them I love them, do the same with my loved ones, and encourage our faith family at C3 to spur one another on to push back the darkness. To everyone else in totality, I’d take the remaining three minutes and forty-five-seconds to share the following:
At the end of the day, my life’s passion is to remain a nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody! This is the only message I have. This is my four minutes! What would yours be? Get this message of hope out to everyone you know. Feel free to share this video because it isn’t my story; it’s His story! As a Christian, it’s your story, too. Do people know that you’re a Christian? Have you shared His story with them?
Use this as a tool to say, “Hey, I am a Christian. If I only had 4 minutes, or if you only had 4 minutes, this is what I’d want you to hear. So, would you please watch this video?” These four minutes could change someone’s eternity.
Lastly, if we’d want to use the last four minutes of our life to share this message of hope, if it really is that important, shouldn’t we use all the time that God has given us to share about this beautiful Jesus? Why wait until the end? Share it now, before you only have four minutes left.
I’d love to hear any testimonies from this video and your experience of sharing it by leaving a comment below.
C3 Rowlett (www.c3rowlett.com) 