Comedian Stephen Wright says he wishes his first words would have been “Quote” so at the end of life his life he could just say, “unquote.” Last words can be significant. They show the condition of a person’s heart and mind at the end.
I’ve noticed that there are more than the usual number of memorable characters who’ve been given the name Larry. My friend Larry Crouch was no exception! He passed away a couple of months ago. His last words were the cap on an already profound life. Larry showed me that one can utter their most potent words on their deathbed.
As he was passing, Larry asked the nursing staff around him if he was dying. They told him yes, he was about to die. That’s freaky in itself. It must have been a little bizarre to have just a few moments till you breathe your last. Larry had always been someone who looked for the chance to share his love and hope in Christ, but this time he wasn’t just willing to share – he was downright blunt.
Larry’s last words were, “Are you saved?” With that, he was gone.
Picture your ending. There’s no need to think of this as something dark. It is a worthwhile inner conversation.
One of the prayers of the psalmist is, “Teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, NASB)
What do you plan your last words will be? If you figure it out now, you won’t have to think about it later. Even more, how does that final curtain call affect the way you live today?
Think about the highest and best closing words of those you are reaching out to these days. What do you hope their’s will be? What are you up to that will nudge them that direction – toward God’s highest and best for them? My hope is their’s will be either “I am saved” or “Are you saved.”
Stephen Wright is hilarious, but you and I need to come up with something better than, “Unquote.”
