What about your obituary?

What about your obituary?

Writing my Mother’s obituary was a lot more daunting of a task than I had realized.

How do you encapsulate a life in 400 words or less, especially when it was so full of experiences and complexities? Of course, obituaries are but thumbnail sketches of the deceased—a summary of the person’s life. They, on one hand, are not meant to be complete autobiographies yet on the other, they are to reveal what was foundational to the person who passed on.

As I typed about my Mother’s life, I could not help but think about my obituary. There will come a day, when my wife, children, or those closest to me will be in the very same position that I was in, sitting in front of a computer tasked to publicly announce my passing and summarize my life in a few short words.

What will they remember about me?

What will they say was the locus of my life—the main thing that I lived for?

In preparation to write my Mother’s obituary, I read others to get an idea of what to say. I read of deceased school teachers, individuals who loved golf and were avid outdoorsmen, and military vets who died with honors to their credit. Not to say those things are unworthy of mention, but I hope that my family would say something more than “John Smith collected Sci-fi memorabilia.”

I would want them to say that I lived with eternity in view. Moreover, I staked my entire life on the gospel and sought to glorify God in all things. Again, I would want them to talk about what really mattered in my life.

To ensure that happens, I need to live as if those things matter so that when it comes time to memorialize me, there will be no question.

Let’s turn the questions, on you, reader. What would be the thing that sticks out in your life that people will remember? What do you live for?

Biblically speaking, there is only one thing that is worthy of living for and that is Jesus Christ. It’s him who makes the individual life count. As C.T. Studd said, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

We live for so many little things like our jobs, money, and hobbies. Yet, those things come and go with time and at the point of death, they, in the long run, don’t matter. The Bible teaches that we shouldn’t live for things that “rust and moth will destroy” (Matt. 6:19) rather we should live for the eternal Kingdom of God and for the King that will never be dethroned. To live for the Kingdom of Christ reaps heavenly rewards that will never be taken away and will be remembered for all eternity.

In Paul’s final letter to his young protégé, Timothy, he writes, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). The way Paul lived, it was unmistakable what Timothy or anyone else for that matter, would remember him for. Paul lived contending for the gospel and expending every bit of himself to make Christ known in places where he wasn’t. I can almost imagine when it came time to memorialize Paul that Timothy and those closest to him would echo his words from Philippians 1:21, and say, “Paul lived for Christ and now his death is gain.”

So, what will they say when death finds you and you are ushered into eternity? Will you be remembered for how much you possessed or whom you possessed, namely Jesus Christ? I think it is a good exercise to examine our lives in light that one day it will be summarized by another and that we should be challenged to ensure that we live for what it is truly important.

Although trying to sum up the 72 years of my Mother’s life was a challenge, looking back, she will be remembered for two things: her love for Jesus and her family.

Now that’s something worth remembering.