Not to be morbid, but what do you think your last words on earth will be? Most of us don't think about it very often, but when you think about it, it's important to think about it. Your last words are, well, your last words-and they play a big role in what you'll be remembered for. Let me give you some examples from famous folks and their famous last words:
Here am I, dying of a hundred good symptoms.
Alexander Pope, writer, d. May 30, 17 44
I owe much; I have nothing; the rest I leave to the poor.
François Rabelais, writer, d. 1553
Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something.
Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary, d. 1923
They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist...
Killed in battle during US Civil War.
General John Sedgwick, Union Commander, d. 1864
Of course the circumstances surrounding our final minutes will have a huge effect on what comes out of our mouths, which is what makes the last words of the greatest Person who ever lived even more amazing. Imagine if you were taken from your home by force in the middle of the night, put through 6 illegal trials with trumped up charges-then beaten, whipped, scourged, forced to walk to your place of execution carrying the instrument of your execution. After that you have spikes pounded through your hands and feet on a cross and a crown of thorns pounded on your head, and finally dropped into a hole and left to die under a hot sun with a mocking crowd...
What would your final words be?
I doubt mine would be very kind, and they certainly wouldn't be insightful. In fact, I don't think I would speak at all. For some reason, going though the worst form of torture and execution ever devised by man wouldn't put me in a chatty mood. It wouldn't put me in any mood at all, I would just want to get it over with.
Jesus was ready to get it over with as well, but He chose to communicate some final things with His final words that become even more powerful in the context of dying on the cross:
At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
This is the only time that Jesus cries out-and it's not because of physical pain. This scream came from the depths of emotional and spiritual agony as He simultaneously bore the full guilt of all the sin of all world for all time and faced the rejection of His beloved Father who could not look on sin.
It was the loneliest most painful moment any human has ever endured. If you've ever felt that way, Jesus can relate.
"Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34)
Jesus could have called down 10,000 angels to completely obliterate and annihilate the Roman soldiers and the Jewish hecklers. Instead He chose to call down 10,000 pardons on those rejoicing in spilling innocent blood and murdering the One who healed their sick and fed their poor.
It was the greatest act of forgiveness any human has ever granted. If you've ever been offended, Jesus can relate.
"It is finished!" (John 19:30)
It is the most powerful statement any human has ever uttered. In three words, Jesus Christ paid in full the penalty for sin and opened wide the gates of heaven for all humankind. If you've ever felt unforgiven, you don't have to. This is why Jesus died on the cross. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died...
Aren't you dying to live for Him? I am...and I truly want my last words to be what I believe were the last of the Apostle Paul:
"To live is Christ...to die is gain."
Head: What you need to know about this truth
Jesus died on the cross to show us the incredible depth of His love and forgiveness, which He showed through His last words.
Heart: What you need to feel about this truth
When I feel unloved, I turn to the cross. Think about what the cross represents-it's like a Person standing across the room with His arms spread wide open-begging you to run to His embrace and let the weight of all your burdens fall on His mighty shoulders. Check out this story:
A young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out he dropped to his knees in prayer.
"Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."
The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then open that other door and pick out any cross you wish." The young man was filled with relief.
"Thank you Lord," he sighed, and he did what he was told. Upon entering the other door, he saw many other crosses, some so large the tops weren't even visible. Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against the far wall. "I'd like that one Lord," he whispered.
And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in." Let God take the burdens from your life.
Hands: What you need to do about this truth
Get a piece of paper and some crayons/colored markers. Draw and color a hill with three empty crosses, then somewhere on the paper write the following:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
"Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing"
"It is finished!"
Hang the picture up somewhere you can see it and be reminded of why Jesus died on the cross and what that means for your life.
here's the link: http://www.dare2share.org/students/dying-words/
- God bless.
[ all for the glory of God.
]
