Transforming the Cross from Death to Life

Have you ever gone into a jewelry store to be shown a necklace with a miniature electric chair hanging from it? Of course not. How about a charm bracelet featuring a hangman’s noose? No way, right? Then why do many people proudly wear cross necklaces and bracelets, tee shirts with images of the cross, or even use crosses as wall decorations in their homes?

 

More than 2,000 years ago someone had the brilliant idea (not really) to invent crucifixion, perhaps the most heinous, excruciating form of death ever conceived. In Jesus Christ’s day, seeing criminals being executed by nailing them to a cross wasn’t unusual – just cruel. Not only was it painful beyond imagining, but it also was humiliating and dehumanizing. 

 

Witnesses probably regarded many of the people crucified as deserving of that fate, but Jesus wasn’t. Even Pontius Pilate, the one who had to authorize Jesus’s crucifixion, stated, “I find no basis for a charge against Him” (John 18:38). But the Lord’s death was foreordained, not because He had ever done anything wrong – which He hadn’t – but because there was no other way for God to accomplish once-for-all atonement for the countless sins of mankind.

 

The Israelites understood this from the Torah – which now is part of the Bible’s Old Testament. As God told Moses in instituting ritual animal sacrifices, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).

 

Long before false charges were brought against Jesus to justify His crucifixion, He understood the shedding of His own blood was the ultimate reason He came to earth in human form. Just hours before going through His mock trial on false charges, being cruelly scourged and mocked, and then crucified, Jesus had shared the Passover meal with His disciples. Using the traditional cup of wine symbolically, He told them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

 

By willingly dying for us on the cross, He transformed the instrument of the most diabolical form of execution into God’s glorious mechanism for forgiveness, freedom from sin and guilt, and the promise of eternal life.

 

An electric chair, a noose, even a syringe for transporting lethal poison will always signify death. No one in their right mind wants to wear symbols of those around their neck, on a bracelet or displayed on a shirt. But through Jesus’ sacrificial, atoning death on the cross, it now serves as a symbol of hope, standing for God’s incredible love, grace and mercy.

 

Some Christian denominations continue to display the crucifix, which bears the image of Jesus on the cross. But for most evangelical congregations, the cross is shown as empty because we know Christ is no longer on the cross. And the tomb in which His body was laid also is empty. As the angel told the women who had gone to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body, “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said…” (Matthew 28:6). 

 

Because of that, millions around the world proudly wear crosses to declare their faith in Jesus Christ, knowing His death, burial and resurrection forever transformed the cross into a representation of forgiveness, redemption and rebirth.

 

The words of 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 ask and answer, “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The unsurpassed example of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and despair.

 

Speaking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, Jesus drew a parallel to an event that took place while the Jews were wandering in the desert thousands of years earlier: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). The key words are, “everyone who believes in Him.”

 

The Lord proceeded to utter perhaps the most profound and revolutionary words ever spoken. He told the Jewish leader, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life…. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16-18).

 

For many of us, the cross does not remind us of tragedy; it serves as the symbol of God’s unfathomable love for His creation, His substitutionary payment for our sins – for all who are willing to receive this greatest gift of all. As Jesus declared on the cross with His last breath, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He used a Greek word, tetelestai, which literally means, “paid in full.”

 

This closing weekend of Holy Week is bittersweet, commemorating Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins but also celebrating His resurrection. As someone has said, He died a death He did not deserve to pay a debt He did not owe, a debt we could not pay – to redeem us and offer us the gift of eternal life.

 

A well-known hymn, “Hallelujah, What a Savior,” says it so well:

“‘Man of Sorrows’ what a name

For the Son of God who came

Ruined sinners to reclaim

Hallelujah, what a Savior….”

 

Indeed. What a Savior!

Ever Leave Some Things Unfinished?

To paraphrase a familiar adage, “the road to failure is paved with good intentions.” Whenever we set lofty goals or start major projects, we’re usually filled with good intentions. We make plans, envision how we’ll carry them out, and imagine the final result. But have you ever started a project, became sidetracked, and somehow never got around to finishing it? 

It might be accurate to say that anyone who’s never started something without finishing it clearly hasn’t attempted to do very much. Whether it’s constructing a birdhouse, creating a painting or sculpture, renovating a house, doing some knitting or crocheting, making household repairs, or writing a book, there are times when the good intentions we had at the outset are forgotten or discarded. Maybe it’s being distracted, discouraged, or simply having determined it wasn’t worth the effort.

 

I’ve had the privilege of writing, co-authoring and editing more than 20 books, but I’ve also started a few that never got finished. Maybe I’ll get back to a couple of them, I keep telling myself, but one or two that started off as ‘good ideas’ turned out to be not good enough.

 

Have you ever driven down a highway and noticed a building that appears only half-finished? Judging from the state of incompletion and the weeds surrounding it, it seems someone either ran out of money, initiative, or both. 

 

Jesus Christ referred to this while talking with His disciples about the cost of following Him. He was explaining the sacrifices that might be necessary – “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be My disciple…” (Luke 14:26). Then He switched to a metaphor:

 

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish’” (Luke 14:29-30).

 

Sadly, there have been many who seemed to have responded to Jesus’ offer of salvation and redemption with great enthusiasm, only to take a detour at some point down the road. That’s a topic for another day.

 

Thankfully, the God we worship and serve has no problem with finishing things. We see this emphasized throughout the Scriptures, starting with the very first chapter: “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good…. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work” (Genesis 1:31-2:2). 

 

When Jesus was completing His three-year ministry, going to the cross to become the once-and-for-all atoning sacrifice for our sins, His last words were, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He wasn’t thinking about his final breath, because three days later He was resurrected from the dead. Jesus was saying the work He had come to do was completed. As Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

Just as the Bible’s first book shows God finishing His work of creation, its final book does so as well. Showing the apostle John in a vision that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth to replace the first heaven and earth, the Lord instructed him, “‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true…. It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End…’”(Revelation 21:5-6).

 

But there’s another important aspect about God’s unfailing commitment to finishing what He’s started. It pertains to you and me, directly and personally. Writing to encourage believers in ancient Philippi, the apostle Paul made this assertion: “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

 

Once you have responded to the Lord’s loving offer of mercy and grace, so that we won’t receive what we do deserve and will receive what we don’t deserve, it’s like He puts a sign on our backs reading, “Under Construction.” Because what theologians term “justification” – the act of being saved – is just the start of our spiritual journey. For the remainder of our days, we’ll be experiencing “sanctification,” the day-to-day process of being transformed into the image of Christ.

 

There are days, I know, when it doesn’t seem like anything’s happening. It might even feel like for every two steps we take forward, we take 3-4 steps back. But from God’s perspective we’re right on schedule. Like a master painter laboring day after day to create an unforgettable work of art, the Lord’s busily removing all our rough edges and adding polish where needed, “carrying it on to completion.”

 

One of my favorite verses in the Bible fills me with amazement every time I read it. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when [Jesus] appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). In other words, if you’re reading this, the Lord’s promise to you is, “I’m not finished with you yet.”

What Was Understood When Jesus Said, ‘It Is Finished’?

Just a few weeks ago Christians around the world completed their annual observance of Holy Week, commemorating the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, followers of Christ understand that the significance of Good Friday and Easter has no real season. The impact of what those days represent, individually and collectively, is experienced 365 days a year.

 

I’d go so far as to say that all of humanity ultimately hinges on three small words, the last ones uttered by Jesus on the cross that gruesome yet glorious day: “It is finished” (John 19:30). That is an English translation of the Greek word tetelestai, which also can be translated “it is completed” or “paid in full.” 

 

After uttering those words, certainly in excruciating pain as the last bit of strength oozed from His body, Jesus bowed His head and died. With the benefit of historical hindsight, we now know what He meant by that simple declaration, but I wonder how those words were understood by those who heard them on that day 2,000 years ago.

 

For the Roman guards charged with nailing Jesus to the cross and then lifting it for Him to hang there for hours, they probably interpreted the meaning as what seemed obvious – He was breathing His last.

 

For the Pharisees and other religious leaders who had orchestrated the rigged trial and trumped-up charges that would justify Christ’s crucifixion, hearing “It is finished” probably meant the threat that “troublemaker” Jesus had posed to their prominence, prestige and authority had been put to an end. They must have been thinking, ”Good riddance!”

 

For Jesus’ followers, who had devoted the previous three years to joining Him in ministry and leaving behind their families and livelihoods, those words must have sounded like the crushing climax to their hopes and dreams. Their charismatic, miracle-working leader hung lifeless as blood continued to seep from His body. The great cause He had personified seemingly had come to a tragic conclusion.

 

Thankfully, they all were wrong. When Jesus declared, “It is finished,” in no way did He mean defeat or failure. Rather, He was announcing that His mission was complete. His ultimate purpose, to become the atoning sacrifice for sin and make it possible for broken, sinful people to establish personal relationships with the holy, righteous God, had been accomplished.

 

This is the message throughout the New Testament. As the apostle Paul asserted in Romans 8:1-3, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.”

 

In another New Testament letter, writing to believers in the ancient church of Corinth, itself a wicked, sin-infested city, Paul said, “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

 

At times, we all have seen our own hopes and aspirations dissolve, falling short of much-desired goals. With dismay and even despair we’ve thought, “It’s over. I’m done.” And we struggled to pick ourselves up from the heap of humiliation to try again, hoping for more success the next time. 

 

But for Jesus there was no need for a “next time.” For Him, “It is finished” meant He had provided the ultimate remedy for sin’s consequences and death would be dealt its ultimate defeat. On the third day, the empty tomb would serve as vivid, tangible evidence of that. Because of that reality, we can cling to this wonderful promise: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Thank God we can live according to His perspective and not our own. For us, because of what Jesus has done,  “It is finished” means it’s only just begun. 

Biblical Mathematics: Is It ‘Jesus-Plus’?

Some of us are better at math than others. For some reason I’ve always been good at number games, like what is 27 times 27 (729) or 32 times 32 (1,024)? But I’ve always been highly challenged by columns of numbers on a ledger sheet or in a checkbook. Some people seem to have problems, too, with what I call “biblical math.”

It concerns what is required to go to heaven and enjoy eternal life. There’s one side that says all you need to do is add up good deeds and compare them with bad deeds. If the good adds up to more than the bad, you’re good to go.

When asked if they expect to go to heaven when they die, the vast majority of people will respond, “I hope so.” Then they might enumerate reasons why: “I’m basically a good person.” “I support charitable causes.” “I’m nice to puppies.” “I think I’m better than the next guy.” “I try to practice acts of random kindness.” Stuff like that.

Those are all laudable things, without question. We’d certainly like to see everyone behaving well rather than behaving poorly. But if we believe the Scriptures, they categorically affirm that none of us is going to earn our way into heaven. It’s not going to happen. It’s not an issue of which total is greater.

Consider the following: Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Lest we be accused of biblical “cherry picking,” we also have Titus 3:5 which declares, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” 

These are just two of many passages we could consider, but they clearly teach that not only can we not earn our way to eternal life through our works and good behavior, but even the faith to believe in what Jesus has done for us is a gift from God.

But there’s another side to this coin. It’s one that essentially contends that while Jesus has paid the full price for our sins – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) – we still need to add to what He has done to stay in God’s good graces.

We might term this “Jesus-plus” thinking. It goes something like this: “Yes, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and we receive forgiveness through His mercy and grace. But there are still things we must do to ensure that we’re Christians.” Biblical mathematics, don’t you know?

These might include things like being baptized in a prescribed manner (usually by immersion); showing up faithfully whenever the church doors are opened; wearing the right clothes and/or having one’s hair trimmed and styled in specific ways; listening only to certain kinds of music; giving or tithing a minimum amount. The list could go on. You probably can think of additions you’ve heard.

The bottom line is that this kind of teaching essentially contends that Jesus isn’t enough. We must add something (or some things) to what He’s already accomplished on our behalf. Some might even point to verses like “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), or “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17).

These are important declarations, indeed, and we dare not cast them aside. But neither they nor other similar verses justify “Jesus-plus” teaching. As Oswald Chambers wisely observed more than a century ago, working out our salvation with fear and trembling amounts to working out what the Lord has already worked in. Kind of like squeezing out a saturated sponge.

When you plant an apple tree, you presume that eventually it will produce apples. And we don’t try to get oranges off of oak trees. Similarly, if we are genuinely new creations in Jesus Christ, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes, then there should be evidence of that spiritual transformation in our lives. Our actions, as well as changes in our thoughts and even things we say, serve as manifestations of that.

We’re not saved by our works – but our works demonstrate that we’re saved. As Jesus said, for instance, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Or as John the Baptist admonished, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (Matthew 3:8, New Living Translation).

To put it another way, there’s nothing we can contribute to enhance what Christ has already done for us. As He said on the cross before taking His last breath, “It is finished” (John 19:30). At the same time, there should be evidence of His work in our lives – proof that we have indeed repented and turned to God. Otherwise, it just doesn’t add up. 

Crosswords, and Important Last Words

Being the “wordsmith” some people describe me to be, I find doing crosswords an enjoyable pastime. I have smartphone apps that challenge my word skills, and occasionally I work crossword puzzles in the newspaper. But this time of year, a different kind of “crosswords” comes to mind.

As Good Friday and Easter approach, our church presented a series of messages titled, “Crosswords,” exploring words of Jesus Christ linked to His crucifixion. In reviewing the biblical accounts, two “cross words” caught my attention in particular, ones that can be truly life-changing, if only we can grasp their magnitude both for now and for eternity.

         The words are: Forgive and finished.

Despite the excruciating pain and trauma of the cross, Jesus managed to utter several things as He endured His tortuous – and totally undeserved – execution. But in those two words He largely summed up His purpose in willingly enduring the cross.

As He hung from it, surrounded by a mainly angry, blood-thirsty mob spewing venomous insults and epithets, Jesus would have been fully justified in spitting at them, or returning their verbal abuse. Despite incomprehensible pain – coupled with great sorrow in being rejected by so many – He felt compassion instead, and called for grace. “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’” (Luke 23:34).

Simple words, “forgive them,” carrying volumes of meaning. Who among us has never yearned for forgiveness for wrongs committed? Sometimes we find it futile even to forgive ourselves. Also, who hasn’t struggled to forgive others for pain they’ve inflicted on us, intentional or not? Yet in saying, “forgive them,” even on the cross Jesus was interceding, asking God the Father to extend mercy, to offer what His enemies – including us today – did not deserve. Forgiveness, once and for all.

With those two words, Jesus was not only assuring each one of us that we can experience forgiveness from the God of all creation, but also was telling us that it’s incumbent upon us all that we, too, forgive. Pastor and author John MacArthur has made the observation, “Never are you more like God than when you forgive.” Many are quick to observe, “God is love,” asserting we should act in kind. But we’re not as fast to recognize the equal truth that God is forgiving – as we should be.

But Jesus was not quite done, even in His dying moments. Upon taking a sip of wine vinegar lifted to his lips on the stalk of a plant, Jesus’ last words were, “’It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).

The word “finished” was not referring to the conclusion of His earthly life, but the culmination of His mission, His purpose for being God incarnate – “God with us,” as Matthew 1:23 expresses it. Some saw Jesus as a great teacher, or a prophet. Today some regard Him as a model, an eminent example of right living. But Jesus walked among us for much more than that.

He came to become the Savior of mankind, the propitiation for sins, the atoning sacrifice. John 3:16-17 informs us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” He was the promised Messiah who had been prophesied thousands of years before.

In coming to Earth, Jesus arrived to address an unsolvable, irreconcilable problem confronting humankind: Sin. We don’t often hear people talking about sin these days, even preachers, except in giddy conversation. But to God, there’s no humor in sin; not in the least. Sin was so serious, He took upon Himself its punishment, satisfying His justice and absorbing His wrath, while offering a singular way for men, women and children to experience an everlasting, living relationship with Him.

All that needed to be done was done, except for us to receive the free gift He offered.

Two “cross words” – forgiveness and finished. So, as we contemplate the gathering darkness of Good Friday, and the exquisite jubilation of Easter, let’s keep both in our minds, and on our hearts.

Deserving of Remembrance

Again on this Memorial Day, thoughts turn to the countless thousands of Americans through the years who have lost their lives defending our nation and paying the highest possible price for the freedom we enjoy – even with its flaws. We also think of the flag that represents our country, the banner that has flown over many of those who suffered death or grave injury to protect many of us who have never seen a real battlefield.

Recently I saw a video of how patriotic Americans quashed a planned flag-burning by students staging a protest at a prominent university in the South. Not only was the intended igniting of the American flag averted, but a soldier in uniform also shamed one of the protestors, shouting at him, “My brother died (in battle) for you!”

I can’t imagine what it must be like to have a loved one’s life taken on the field of battle. My father was wounded twice during World War II, but returned home after the war alive and intact. If he hadn’t, I certainly wouldn’t be writing this blog post today. A friend of mine was not as fortunate – he never knew his biological father, who died during a battle in that war. My friend’s pain of loss may have dulled, but has never disappeared.

So as we pause for this annual commemoration, I respect the right of people to protest how our country is being run. However, I believe that to burn or desecrate the flag in any way is a heinous act of disrespect – not only to the nation it represents, but also to the lives that were cut short in preserving that right to express protests.

Like most people, I wish there was no war. I wish there had never been any wars. In any form, war seems so senseless, but wishful thinking has yet to make war go away.

So it seems the prudent, compassionate strategy is to strive for peace – praying for it, seeking non-violent resolutions to conflicts, and hoping the loss of lives due to war in the future will be minimal. At the same time, it’s also fitting to recognize and honor the lives of those many who bravely and nobly sacrificed themselves so that people like you and me could live, work, play, and yes, even protest.

In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” This applies to every soldier and sailor, male and female, that has not returned from a field of battle, whether in Europe, Asia, Africa or the Middle East. And of course, Jesus was also referring to Himself, as He prepared to singlehandedly engage in the greatest war of all, the war against sin and the powers of evil.

His “battlefield” was unique, a cross atop a lonely hill that seemed so stark and obscure at the time. Two thousand years later that cross, that hill, and that life are hardly obscure or forgotten. This event has become the linchpin that serves to link – and divide – all of humanity today. The battle against sin continues, but the war has been won once and for all. Jesus declared such when He said just before breathing His last, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

So it seems fitting that as we honor and memorialize the countless American lives that have been lost from the Revolutionary War to the present, it would be proper also to ponder the death of the one called the “King of kings.” We should call to remembrance the Christian “soldiers” who have defended the faith all around the world, including missionaries and martyrs who have stood firm in the face of persecution and oppression.

These lives were not lost in vain. In Acts 10:4 a devout Roman centurion was told, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.” In the same way, all who live for the Lord and serve Him are not forgotten but remembered forever.

Benefits of a New Balance

Paying a bill the other day, I noticed the statement listed my new balance. It occurred to me this phrase – “new balance” – has multiple meanings, ones that are strikingly different.

The new balance the billing statement cited, of course, was the remainder on the debt that was yet to be paid. But then I considered New Balance shoes, which many people use for walking and running. The name promises both comfort and a proper fit and balance for wearers engaged in various forms of exercise.

When considering a "new balance," there
are many ways of applying the phrase.

There’s the new balance some people are demanding to alleviate the logjam of partisan politics and posturing that has slowed legislative progress in Congress. In sports sometimes we hear cries for a new balance to correct what’s perceived as a competitive imbalance at both collegiate and professional levels.

When economists review the balance of trade, the comparison of a nation’s imports and exports, they sometimes declare a new balance is necessary.

Even the Bible makes the promise of a new balance. Because similar to my bill, there’s a debt – in this case, a spiritual one – to be paid.

There are some who consider God’s acceptance in terms of a balance scale: Do enough good that outweighs the bad you’ve done, and you’ll be okay. Sounds right, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, the Bible contradicts that rationale. It states, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In other words, we’re way out of balance.

If we argue, “Well, what about all the good I’ve done?” the Scriptures respond, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) To emphasize this point, Romans 3:10-12 declares, “There is no one righteous, not even one…there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Put another way, even when we do good things, they are typically tainted with bad – pride, improper motives, selfishness and self-centeredness. What seems good to us is totally unacceptable to God.

That leaves us with a dilemma. As the jailer asked the apostle Paul and Silas, “what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Or we might ask, “How then can I get right with God?”

Returning to the debt analogy, whenever we receive a billing statement that cites our “new balance,” it’s saying even though we’ve made a payment, we’re still indebted. Spiritually, every day we’re running up a “tab” of sin we can’t possibly pay – conscious and subconscious rebellion against God and disobedience to His standards. This ultimately is why Jesus came – and went to the cross.

As someone has said, “Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, to save those who owed a debt they could not pay.” The last word He said before dying on the cross was “Tetelestai," which means, “It is finished" (John 19:30). This word also was used on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show a bill had been paid in full.

Perhaps when we arrive in heaven, we will be presented with a bill representing our spiritual debt, one we could never repay. But on the bill will be stamped, in blood red, the word, “Tetelestai.” Or perhaps, for those that can’t read Greek, “Paid in full.”

We’ll have a new balance – a zero balance. The debt has been satisfied. Can you imagine? 

Famous Last Words

When you hear the term, “famous last words,” what comes to mind? Recently during the NCAA basketball tournament, a player brashly announced his team would defeat a much-higher seeded opponent in an early round. Unfortunately, the athlete had his worst game of the season and his team suffered a crushing defeat. Extract brashness. Insert humiliation. Eat words.

Last words famously uttered by people in the most literal sense are even more interesting. Revered science-fiction writer H. G. Wells is reputed to have said, “Go away…I’m all right.” Well, maybe not. George Washington, the first U.S. President, was a bit more definitive with his final words: “It is well, I die hard, but I’m not afraid to go.”

Actor James Dean, shortly before his fatal car crash, presaged his demise when he said, "My fun days are over." More certain of her own end, French queen Marie Antoinette kept her manners even on her way to the guillotine. After accidentally stepping on the foot of her executioner, she reputedly said, “Pardon me, sir. I did not do it on purpose.”

What do you think your own "famous last
words" might be some day?

One of my favorites came from Francisco “Pancho” Villa, the Mexican revolutionary of the early 1900s. On his deathbed Villa told those around him, "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something important." We can appreciate such sentiments.

You’d think writers would be especially good at coming up with famous last words. Poet Emily Dickinson, in her last breath, offered this provocative observation: “…the fog is rising.” Another celebrated poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, after her husband, Robert Browning, asked how she felt, replied, “Beautiful.”

Enlightenment writer and philosopher, Voltaire, is reputed to have sustained antagonism toward religious dogma to the very end. When asked by a priest to renounce Satan, he supposedly responded, “Now, now, my good man, this is no time for making enemies.”

Author O. Henry, borrowing lyrics of a popular song, stated, "Turn up the lights, I don't want to go home in the dark." Damon Runyon had this poignant comment: "You can keep the things of bronze and stone and give me one man to remember me just once a year."

Perhaps also wishing to be remembered, artist Pablo Picasso said, “Drink to me.”

Karl Marx, the Prussian-German philosopher and socialist, apparently felt nothing was left to say: "Go on, get out. Last words are for fools who haven't said enough."

I offer these not to seem morbid, but simply as a reminder that, ready or not, one day every one of us will have the “opportunity” to express our last words – regardless of whether they become famous or not.  It seems to me the words we utter as we die are often a reflection of how we’ve lived. The thoughts and values that have bubbled inside of us might just spill out at the last.

There are no better examples, in my opinion, than what we find in the Bible. Hanging from the cross, Jesus mustered up enough breath to proclaim, “It is finished” (John 19:30). His mission had been accomplished; the debt for mankind had been paid.

Then the apostle Paul, writing to his young protégé Timothy while sitting in prison awaiting execution, declared, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Even though it may be many years from now, what do you think your last words will be? Better yet, what would you like them to be? It’s never too soon to start preparing.