Last Words

If you live long enough, you will think about your last words. Last words are spoken in

hospital rooms and on quiet phone calls. Last words are written in worn notes tucked in wallets. 

Last words are whispered when you know the curtain is about to fall. 

Last words carry the weight of everything you’ve lived.

 Last words outlive the speaker. 

Last words are what remain when the body is gone.

Personal Reflection

Last WordsCurt Brickley

3:54

On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007, five young Muslims tortured and murdered three Christians in Malatya, Turkey. Before torturing them and finally killing them by slitting their throats, one of the victims was stabbed 150 times in a particularly brutal attack. A note left at the scene by the murderers read: “This should serve as a lesson to the enemies of our religion. We did it for our country.”

A month after the murders I left for Malatya to minister to the wife and children of the murdered missionary. But before I did, I kissed my three small children good-bye and penned this hand-written note, similar to the one left at the scene. Acknowledging that I could suffer a similar fate, I wrote what I would want my last words to be to my murderers:

“My presence here should serve as a lesson that God loves you; He sent His Son Jesus who demonstrated His love on the Cross. I am here because He wants you to know this!”

The note now tattered, torn and falling apart has found its permanent home in my wallet. The note is with me always as a reminder, whether in Turkey or some other far off place that “my life is not my own.”

Funny… I find the sentiment of those words just as applicable to all believers on this earth, because anywhere we now dwell is far away from our home as we look “forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God… for a country of their own… longing for a better country – a heavenly one.” (Hebrews 11:10-16)

Today, I was thinking about a friend who is now away from his body and at home with his Lord. His departure from this earth was sudden and unexpected. In the blink of an eye he was gone, but still today his last words to me remain.

“Hi Curt. I was thinking about you this morning. I wanted you to know that I pray for you each day. I hope you are well. You're a very special person and I felt a bond with you since you stayed here with us. I just want to encourage you in your service to the Lord. You are an inspiration to me. ~ Your brother in Christ”

I’m convicted because I wonder about my own words. What careless words have I spoken? I’m old enough now to have had many friends leave this world and I wonder what my last words to them were? If I left this world this morning, what last words would I leave behind?

That experience — and that tattered note still in my wallet — birthed this song.

Theme

There’s a note in my wallet, torn at the seams. It’s been with me now for years, in daylight and my dreams.

We don’t choose the hour, or how the story ends. But we can choose our last words for our family and friends.

This song reminds us:

• Let my last words be mercy, let ‘em speak Your name.

• Let ‘em point to forgiveness, not anger or blame.

• When the curtain falls, and I’m called to come home, let my message be faith, in Christ Jesus alone.

• My last words—Lord, let ‘em be You.

Scripture Foundation

• “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body…” — James 3:2

• “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing…” — James 3:9-10

• “…while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” — 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

• “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” — Acts 1:7-8

Processing Questions

Take a few moments and reflect:

1. What were the last words you spoke to someone who is no longer here?

2. If today were your last day, what would your final message be to your family and friends?

3. Are your everyday words building others up or tearing them down?

4. In what areas of your life do you need to surrender your tongue to the Holy Spirit?

5. What would change if you lived every day as if your next words might be your last?

Prayer

Father, my tongue is a restless fire. Too often it speaks carelessly when it should speak life. Forgive me.

I want my last words — whether spoken today or years from now — to be filled with mercy, not anger… with forgiveness, not blame… with faith in Jesus alone.

From the cross You cried forgiveness. From the grave You called us free. From the mountain You commanded, “Go tell what you have seen.”

I wanna be a witness. And when my last breath is done, let my last words be Your glory, God — the glory of Your Son.

Make my last words count, Lord. Let ‘em be You.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Closing

Don’t wait until the end to decide what your words will say. Start today. Speak mercy.

Speak grace. Speak Jesus. Let your last words — and all the words before them — be Him.

Make your last words count today. They may very well be your last words.