DYING WORDS

October 6

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 4

2 Timothy 4:18, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

In his insightful book, “Last Words of Saints and Sinners,” Herbert Lockyer wrote of the relative importance of a person’s dying words, saying: “As this volume deals with the last words of both saints and sinners about to enter eternity, what they had to say before their stammering tongues lay silent in the grave demands our deepest attention and most earnest concern.  If, when the soul is face to face with eternal realities, true character is almost invariably manifest, then we can expect the lips to express glorious certainty or terror concerning the future.”

Herbert Lockyer

We have, in this chapter, the Apostle Paul’s last words.  He knew that “the time of (his) departure (had) come” (1 Timothy 4:8).  Note the term that Paul used here, a term that spoke metaphorically of a ship being loosed from its moorings or a military breaking up an encampment.  It was time for him to journey home, and he knew where he was going (Philippians 1:23).

In this chapter, Paul reflected on his life and what mattered most to him.  His words speak to his total submission to the Lord, and his confident expectation as to where he was going.  Reflecting on his life and work and relationships, his focus was entirely on Jesus, whom he had faithfully loved and served.

He reflected on his past, saying: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).  We are herein reminded that the Christian life is no walk in the park—it is a battle to be fought, a race to be run, a course to finish.  The Apostle Paul had been faithful in discharging the stewardship given to him.  How thankful we should be for his wonderful example!  Perhaps, you’ve faltered.  You’re not fighting or running, and you’ve lost sight of the finish line.  But your present circumstance is not the end of your story.  God is full of grace and mercy and is well able to intervene on your behalf and set you back on course.

He reflected on his relationships.  He called upon Timothy to come, and for him to bring Mark (the one who had once deserted Paul, but then was restored to service).  He mentioned others—one had deserted him, another had caused him much harm, and in his defense, he was abandoned.  But he harbored no ill will towards any, putting it all in the Lord’s hands to sort out.  Of the deserters, he said, “May it not be charged against them” (2 Timothy 4:16). In keeping with Jesus’ own example, he exercised forgiveness and approached his pending death with his relationships in order.

He reflected on what mattered most.  D. L. Moody once said, “The main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing.”  The main thing for Paul was knowing Jesus (and making Him known).  It’s not surprising then to read of his request to Timothy: “Bring…the books, and above all the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:14).  He’d spend his years writing of the Lord that he loved to the churches that he loved.  Nothing mattered more to him than that.  Indeed, he suffered for that very cause.  But he was undeterred to the end, and you and I have benefitted from his devotion! I’ve sat along the bedside of lots of dying folks, and I can attest to the fact that there are a lot of things that no longer mattered to them. A part of the challenge we face in life is aligning what matters most to us with that which matters most to God. The Apostle Paul did that. And we do well to follow his example.

He knew where he was going and how he was to get there, saying: ”The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18)!  How precious the truth of this verse!  I shared this with a friend not long before she died, reminding her that Jesus was there to walk with her on the last steps of her journey home.  The Lord will do that.  He who is “The Way” will do that (John 14:6).  He who is the “Shepherd and Overseer of (our) souls” will do that (1 Peter 2:25). He is well able to bring us safely home (Philippians 3:21)!  We can approach dying with confidence not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but because we know the One who died for our sins and rose from the dead! 

How precious are these dying words of the Apostle Paul!  He had served well, expended himself in love and forgiveness, and trusted in Jesus ‘til the end.  He approached the end of his life with things in order–he loved Jesus, he had loved his friends and forgave his enemies, he kept his heart aligned to what mattered most, and he was trusting Jesus to bring him safely home when that time came. His perspective on death and dying is one we’d all do well to emulate!

“Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”—John Newton

Trusting Him while life shall last,
Trusting Him till earth be past;
Till within the jasper wall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.