What will it say on your tombstone? What will be your epitaph?

That’s probably not something you spend much time thinking about, but it can say a lot about you. And there have been some good ones…and funny ones…found in cemeteries all over.

There is the tombstone of William H. Hahn, who apparently was always complaining of some health issue. We usually label someone like that a hypochondriac. Hahn had the last word, though. His marker said, “I told you I was sick!”

Or, how about the grave marker of voice over specialist Mel Blanc. He was the voice of Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig, among many others, in countless cartoons. And he was famous for his sign-off at the end of those cartoons. So, it seemed perfect for his tombstone to say,

“That’s all, folks!”

Then there is Jonathan Blake from Uniontown, Pennsylvania. His marker says a lot.

Here lies the body of
Jonathan Blake.
Stepped on the gas
Instead of the brake.

There are others who chose to acknowledge their Christian heart. Take Johnny Cash, the country singer. On his marker are the words of Psalm 19:14:

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Thy sight,
O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.

Pastor Tim Challies and his wife lost their son, Nick, who died tragically at age 20. It started Tim thinking about what we often see on a gravestone. The date of birth. A dash. The date of death. And in that process Challies asked the question, “How long is that dash?” He wasn’t referring to how many years were represented, but how a person lived their life. What did they accomplish? How did they serve the Lord and others? Good questions for us…who are living in our own personal “dash” …to consider.

In my morning Bible reading I use plans that will take me through the whole Bible in a year. That does two things for me. It often takes me into passages I would likely not read on my own. And it keeps me from simply returning to familiar passages. God’s Word is far deeper than that.

Now I will admit that the lists of names of David’s warriors or the leaders of all the tribes of Israel are sometimes tedious. But often, in the midst of those verses is a gem, a jewel the Lord has placed there for his servants to find. I found one in the New Testament this morning…and it may well end up on my tombstone someday.

In Romans 16 Paul is commending numerous friends by name…some 35 of them. In verse 10 he mentions Apelles and says this of him:

…a good man whom Christ approves. (NLT)

I would love for that to be said of me…or of you. But even as I say that I realize that means I must end well in my service to the Lord Jesus. Any past accomplishments can be diminished or even destroyed by wrong decisions and succumbing to the world’s temptations.

A good runner knows that the race is not won solely on a good start. The winner is one who runs through the tape to claim his prize. Finish well. Run through the tape. And may it be said of us at the end…

…a good man [or woman] whom Christ approves.

God’s best…