“20 And how I kept back nothing that was
profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and
from house to house,” – Acts 20:20
In Sunday school this past Sunday the following question was
purposed. If you knew that this was the
last time you were going to ever be in this church what would you say? What message would you leave? In the 20th chapter of Acts Paul
the Apostle was in just such a position.
He was headed for Jerusalem and he knew that he would never again return
to the church he had started in Ephesus.
The verses 16-38 are an account of the message he left them with; his
last message to the church he loved so dear.
Stop and consider, what if you knew this was your last day on
earth? What message would you leave? What would you pen down for those behind to
read and forever remember you by? What exhortation,
advice, or counsel would you give?
Measuring our lives on the scales of eternity has a way of
producing a benchmark of only that which is most important. If you were given just a few moments, a piece
of paper, and a pen; I doubt you would waste words. I cannot imagine many would include in their
last testimony the game they won, or the superb golf match they played. Would we care to speak of the car we drive,
boat we own, or our extensive shoe collection?
The point is the frivolity of life would not likely find a place within
the margins of your last testimony. It
is far more likely that you would write about the things unseen, for that which
we cannot see is that which is most important to us when we place our lives
against the backdrop of eternity. I
don’t know about you, but my letter would be filled with words of love, the
love I have for my friends and family and the love that I have for God. The counsel plain and simple, read the
scriptures and follow its instructions; make sure that your soul is ready to
meet judgment. Our Savior, Jesus Christ,
give us the parable of the rich man who had so much, that he needed to tear
down his barns and build greater. Then
once his barns were big enough to hold all his wealth, he could then take his
ease. Jesus said “thou fool, this night
thy soul shall be required of thee.” How
many spend night and day laying up treasures in their 401K’s; spending their
life’s breath building up a cushion to one day “take their ease on.” How can we even be sure that we will live to
see our day of ease? How much more to
lay up our treasures in heaven, to spend our days in the service of the
Lord? May God help us in this matter; may
God help us to search the scriptures, allow them to winnow our lives, and keep
ever in mind the life to come.
The sobering reality is that whatever you write on your last
testimony will carry little weight unless a life backs it up. When the Apostle Paul spoke those last words
to the church, he spoke words that mirrored a life. In truth, this is our last testimony, the
life we leave behind, it is not transcribed on a page or drafted in nouns and
verbs. It is written with our own
decisions. So let us examine ourselves
and ask not what we would write on our last day, but rather, what are we
currently writing?
