
The tick-tock of a clock signals a new year has come. The sound may be comforting, a continuity that carries from day to day, or it may be ominous, the steady beat of life going by too quickly. You can blame Thomas Mudge for whichever feeling you have on this New Years Day.
Thomas Mudge was one of the greatest English watchmakers of the 18th century. In 1759 he revolutionized timekeeping—and human society—by inventing the “lever escapement.” This small mechanical piece enabled the gear train to move the hands of the watch at a steady rate. For the first time in history a pocket watch could be accurate to one minute per day, a huge improvement. This revolutionized industry and the personal perception of time. Now anyone could hear the steady tick-tock of the lever escapement counting the seconds of life!
Each of us had 31,557,600 seconds in 2017. What did we do with these moments? Now a new year beckons (no guarantees of tomorrow, of course) and the question is with us again. God presents us with millions of seconds to join Him in the journey of faith!
Let’s go! And thanks, Thomas, watchmaker to the King, for the opportunity of making each tick a signal of life!