Have you ever thought about what you want written on your tombstone? That may seem like a morbid thought to most people, but it’s actually a healthy question. As Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to learn wisdom.” We should periodically stop to think about our lives from the end.
In Acts 20, we get a glimpse into what Paul would have wanted on his tombstone. Paul gives a farewell speech to some of his closest friends, and summarizes his entire philosophy of life. I’d like to be able to have these five statements be the funeral sermon at the end of my life.
1. I have been faithful to do what Jesus told me to do.
Paul says (to paraphrase Acts 20:24), “My single focus has been and is to do what God has told me to do.” At the end of the day, that is the only thing that really matters.
People go wrong with this in two opposite ways. Some people feel like it is their responsibility to save the world—to fix their friends, to make absolutely certain that their kids turn out right, to redeem every last orphan. So they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, and nothing they do ever feels like enough. On the other hand, I’ve known people who never even stop to think that God has given them a responsibility at all.
We aren’t responsible to save the world; but we are responsible to fulfill the assignment Jesus has given us. Many of us need to redefine what “success” looks like in our lives. Success in life is identifying what God has called you to and being completely faithful in it.
2. I told the truth.
Twice in Paul’s speech he says, “I did not shrink from declaring” the entire truth of the gospel (vv. 20, 27). Paul saw himself as a herald of the truth. He wasn’t responsible for the content of the message; he was only responsible to deliver it.
I want my life to be an example of that kind of boldness. The truth of the gospel can be offensive: people don’t like to hear about their sin, about the righteous judgment of God, about the reality of hell. But if we shrink from declaring the whole gospel because it’s uncomfortable, we are implicitly telling the world, “We don’t care that you are dying.”
We aren’t responsible to make our friends and family believe, but to tearfully present the truth like Paul (Acts 20:19, 31). As Charles Spurgeon said, “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”
3. I directed people’s attention toward Jesus, not toward myself.
Paul defines his ministry as one filled with “humility and with tears and with trials” (Acts 20:19). That’s not how most of us would like to summarize our lives. I’d prefer victory, power, and joy. In fact, the Greek word Paul used for “humility” was used quite extensively outside of the Bible as an insult. It meant low, weak, defeated. Yet when Paul uses it—and throughout the New Testament—it is considered a virtue.
Why does an insult outside of the gospel become a virtue inside of it? Because Christian ministry is not about extraordinary men and women of excellent character, but about a great Savior who can save the weakest, most broken, and most guilty sinners. I don’t want to leave people with an example to admire, but a Savior to trust in.
4. I finished strong.
Many people start following Christ with excellent intentions, but they simply don’t persevere to the end. At this point in Paul’s life, he had accomplished a lot, but he knew that it would all be for nothing if he didn’t finish strong (Acts 20:24).
One of the main reasons we have trouble finishing is a divided heart. We want to complete the assignment Jesus has given us, but other things begin to pull at us. I want to be faithful to Jesus, but I also want to be with her. I want to stand with Jesus, but I really need their approval. I want to do what Jesus says, but I also want to own that. And our divided loves keep up from finishing what we started in faith.
We need to faithfully finish each chapter that Jesus has set before us. If you’re in college, then finish strong, making the most of your time there. If you’re a young mother, finish strong with your kids, knowing that this season doesn’t last forever (though it sometimes feels like it). If you’re a husband and father, finish strong with your family. Don’t be one of those guys who checks out in his 50s, buys a sports car, unbuttons his shirt to his navel, and plays golf all day. Finish!
5. I gave more than I took.
Paul thought of a fulfilled life as one in which he gave more than he took (Acts 20:35). That’s a good perspective to adopt in all of your relationships. In your friendships, do you give more than you take? In your marriage, do you serve your spouse more than you expect him/her to serve you? In your career, do you see your work just as your way of making money, or as a platform to bless others and serve the mission of God? In your retirement, do you view life as one big vacation, or as a time to continue serving others?
Where do we get the strength to give more than we take? Only by looking to Christ. Paul was able to spend himself for the sake of others because there was one relationship in which he would always take more than he could give—his relationship to Christ. Jesus had given up far more for Paul than he would ever take from him.
We can never repay Jesus for what he has done for us. But because he gave himself fully for us, we can give ourselves to others without worrying about whether they will give back.
