2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

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During my horrible procrastinating episode last week, I was web-surfing and I came upon this article: Last Words of Texas Condemned. The article basically lists the "last statement" of people who died through the death penalty. Before they were executed, they were asked "Do you wish to make a last statement?"

Excerpt:
"Sometimes the answer is no. More often it is yes. The responses are catalogued on a Texas Department of Criminal Justice Web site. Many are predictable. Some are provocative. Many proclaim innocence. Some protest the death penalty. Some are profane. Some seek forgiveness. Others grant it. Some thank so many people you'd think it was Oscar night. Some speak to somebody in the witness room. At times, that's a mom.
"Well, Mom," Marcus Cotton said March 3, 2004, "sometimes it works out like this."
"Sometimes it's a victim's mom.
"Where's Mr. Marino's mother? Did you get my letter? Just wanted to let you know, I sincerely meant everything I wrote. I'm sorry for the pain. I am sorry for the life I took from you," Gerald Mitchell said on Oct. 22, 2001."

It was an interesting read. The death penalty issue aside, it got me thinking about punishment and death.

Now, I don't plan on going on a murdering spree, but at a fundamental level, the Texas condemned aren't that much different from me. We have moms; we need food, water, and sleep; we make horrible decisions where sometimes we admit that we made a terrible mistake and other times we deny it; and in the end, we become worm food...whether it be state-mandated or not. God made us mortal. I don't know when/where/how, but I am going to die some time/place/way. With the inevitability of death and after reading people's last words, I wondered, what will my "last statement" be?

I have no idea. I won't even begin to presume that I'm capable of predicting that.


I am sure of this: Jesus has already taken care of my punishment and has made me right with God. So when I die, I will not get the punishment I deserve...which brings a more pertinent question than what my last statement is going to be: how has Christ's death transferred to how I live my life right now? Am I living in whatever fashion I please, or am I living in reflection of what Christ has done?

What Paul wrote to Timothy is what I want to be able to say in the end. I want to be able to say that "I fought the good fight, I finished the course, I have kept the faith". I want to be able to say that I have consistently longed for Him to come. I want to be able to say that I lived, holding onto the eternal life that God has called me. I want to hear from God that I have been a good and faithful servant.

How am I living my life today such that when I'm in heaven, God sees that I did my best while on earth?