REFLECTIONS
July 6, 2008
 
 
The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
2 Timothy 4:22 NKJV
 
                                              
Last Words
 
“Delicious.” That was my dad’s last word. He was eating a leftover lamb chop for breakfast when Mom walked past him and asked, “How’s your breakfast?” He spoke his last word and slumped from his chair. His last word, delicious, lingered with us throughout our time of mourning.
Last words seem to intrigue most of us. We recall last words of prominent people like the defenders of a famous Texas shrine whose last words were said to be “Remember the Alamo.” But I can’t help but wonder why we have such a fascination with them. Perhaps it has something to do with an association we make with a summary of life or a cause lived for. Such it is with Apostle Paul.
Paul wrote his last words in his second letter to his understudy, Timothy. In the letter, Paul accepted that his ministry was ending, and that his life would not last much longer. So his letter included his final instructions then he concluded, “The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.”
Paul’s mission in life was to teach the Gospel to the gentiles, and the final act of his mission was to give his blessing to his successor. It was what we expect last words to be—a summary of how Paul saw himself, what he believed the purpose of life to be, and a little bit wisdom he wished to leave behind.
Last words become the essence of our lives, whether we verbalize them in words or paint them with our deeds. They are the mark we leave behind that says, “Well done.”
I’m sure that my dad did not carefully choose his last word. But I am also sure that he could not have chosen a better one for him. He lived his life with flavor and he savored every minute of it. His life choices made him a master chef of them and he nourished us all with his love. It was his mark on life that said, “Well done.”
Seldom do we consider what our last words might be, but we should think about the picture our lives are painting. We craft a little part of it every day. The choices we make each day define our lives, what we believe the purpose of life to be, and the little bit of wisdom we leave behind.
And when we choose well, who knows. The last words might just be delicious.
 
“You are the light of the world,”
Richard Ì
 


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