Theme: Whose purpose are we living?
I have often heard that one’s focus in life can be known by the last words a person speaks before dying. To see if that was true, I looked up a random list of famous and not-so-famous people compared to the final words of Jesus himself.
As he died, PT Barnum said, “How were the receipts today in Madison Square Garden?”
Marie Antoinette, as she stepped on her executioner’s toe and climbed up to the guillotine, said, “Pardonnez-moi, Monsieur.”
“Moose. Indian.” -Henry David Thoreau
“How is this for a headline in tomorrow’s paper? French Fries!”-convicted murderer James French while sitting in the electric chair.
Pancho Villa, a famed Mexican revolutionary, said, “Do not let it end this way. Tell them I said something.”
Finally, we read the last words of our Lord and Savior, God, and man, as He died on the cross: “It is finished!”
The mission and focus of each person showed through to the very end.
Barnum died with his life’s passion—the state of his earnings on his lips.
Marie Antoinette died the picture of her royal position—courteous and courtly.
For a man who made his living and found his fame with words, Thoreau died babbling seeming nonsense.
Convicted murderer James French died sarcastically unrepentant.
Mexican militant Pancho Villa honestly admitted he had nothing to say concerning why he acted out his life.
Jesus, on the other hand, was coherent and determined to the end, with his own life’s passion and purpose on his lips. Those who know Jesus and understand His life know that this was not the “whimper of defeat or despair,” as many have misunderstood it to be. Instead, this was a shout of confidence in his completion of God’s MISSION in the world.
Jesus had finished the purpose for which he had been born: to live a perfect life to fulfill the holy requirements of God’s moral law, offer himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for the world's sins, and simultaneously allow us to know God. All that was left was to rise in victory, the first fruits of the resurrections.
As Pastor Dan spoke of our individual and collective missions in life, many of us may have thought of the word legacy. Our legacy will be the window through which others view how well we lived out our mission, not merely what we said it was. If our church were to exist no longer, what would people say about it? How would it be remembered? As we close this earthly chapter of our lives, what will be the last thoughts of our minds? Will they be about our bank accounts or regrets and sorrow in leaving? Or will we have the same response as our Lord did over 2,000 years ago, “It is finished,” with joy and peace? Will it be “mission accomplished,” knowing we will hear “Well done, good and faithful servant,” or “I did not have a mission and have nothing to say?”
Although no one will ever speak concluding words more meaningful than Jesus’s, there is still something here for us to emulate. For we have each been sent into this world with a purpose. As our mission statement follows, we must first get to know God, who will help us find freedom and open the door to discover our purpose in Him, a lasting purpose. Then, and only then, can we hope to make a real difference, in which we can confidently say, “It is finished,” when we are done. This can be done with or without words because our actions ultimately determine if we genuinely finish strongly.
Scripture: Matthew 25:23 (NIV)
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.”
Prayer:
Lord, give me the hunger to know you better each day, and never allow me to smugly say, “I have arrived.” Please let the hunger burn, and by knowing you more closely every day, may I lose my purpose in life and find your purpose for me. I so long to only live on the path you created for me, and to end this life in my earthly body with only three words that you said when you were here with is, “It is finished.” Your Will Be Done! Amen
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