For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:6-8
You take over. I’m about to die, my life an offering on God’s altar. This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, he’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 The Message – translated by Eugene Peterson
During 2026, Peachtree Church is inviting everyone into Cultivate, a churchwide discipleship plan centered on the fruit of the Spirit and the kind of life God longs to grow in us. Throughout the year, we’ll explore how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control take shape in everyday life through the Spirit’s work. Cultivate brings together worship, Scripture, group guides, and meaningful practices designed to meet you where you are and support growth in ways that fit your season. These twice-weekly devotionals are one way to stay connected, offering reflection and grounding for daily life with God. Whether you engage in many ways or just one, you’re invited to be part of this shared journey of becoming more rooted in who God has created and called you to be.
Devotional
There is a lot of fascination with famous people’s last words. In that last moment, as they leave this life and go into the next, what do they choose to say? What final thoughts do they leave us with? Here are some of my favorite last words:
The painter Raphael said only, “Happy!”
The painter, inventor, and genius Leonardo Da Vinci said, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.” (I hope he was met with a gracious, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” instead of a reproach.
The musician Gustav Mahler said, “Mozart! Mozart!” By which we know either that Mozart ushered him into heaven, or that the music of heaven might be Mozart.
Harriet Tubman’s last words were sung, “Swing low, Sweet chariot, comin’ for to carry me home.” (So fitting for the woman whose underground railroad brought so many to freedom!)
Groucho Marx said, “This is no way to live.”
Poet Emily Dickinson said, “I must go in, for the fog is rising.”
And Steve Jobs, according to his sister, said, “Oh Wow! Oh Wow! Oh Wow!”
Our verses today are some of the Apostle Paul’s last words to his young friend Timothy, as he prepared this young pastor to shoulder the work of sharing the gospel and nurturing the churches, after Paul’s impending death. I shared both the NIV translation and the Message version of these verses above. As you read them, you get the distinct idea that Paul thinks he is running out of time here on earth. He is preparing himself and his young friend for the days when he is gone.
But in no way is Paul in despair, or at a loss about what the coming events mean. Is he angry at his dilemma? No. Is he furious with God for being in this terrible situation? No. Is he asking for rescue? No, he is not.
He says, in these last words, that God has loved him and purposed him for the work of sharing the good news of Jesus, founding churches, and raising up leaders, both men and women. He knows the work will go on after he is gone.
So his sense is that his life is almost spent, but he spent it on God’s work, that his fight is almost at an end (and what a fight it’s been)! He knows that his race is almost done, and he has run it well. And he knows that the Lord is waiting for him, and everyone else that has longed to see him, and that he will be awarded a crown that will never wither or fade.
Paul’s last words, in spite of being a condemned prisoner, are of hope. As my father would say, “Let that lean on you.”
For Reflection
- Paul’s words reflect that he’s thought hard about his life and what it has meant to himself, to others, and to God. When you think about your life, and the way God has shaped you along the way, what can you say about what your life has meant to yourself, to others, and to God? What might your last words be?
Prayer
Dear Lord, I don’t know when the end of my life will come. But I know you have been with me in all the times and places of my life, closing doors and opening them, bringing people and situations to me, helping me through darkness and suffering, reminding me of my gifts and how to use them. Lord, help me to finish well. Help me to build up the people who will carry on after me. Help me to anticipate the finish line, where you will meet me and celebrate my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
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Devotionals