What Will Matter Most at the End of My Life?

Gladiator is my all-time favorite movie, filled with timeless quotes. One lesser-known quote comes from the scene where Marcus Aurelius lies on his bed and has a light conversation about life with Maximus before it turns serious.

“I am dying, Maximus. When a man sees his end, he wants to know there was some purpose to his life. How will the world speak my name in years to come? Will I be known as the philosopher? The warrior? The tyrant? Or will I be the Emperor who gave Rome back her true self? There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish, it was so fragile. And I fear that it will not survive the winter.”

I am 66 years old and have been making preparations for retirement next year, after I turn 67. It was sobering to review my financial retirement plan and discover that it terminated at age 84—my statistical probable end of life. My hourglass is less than a quarter full, and the sands of time are running out.

I am not on my deathbed, but as I look back over six decades, I see just how fragile life is. Dreams have come and gone. Family members and many friends have already passed away. Youth and strength have passed me by. What I once was, and what I dreamed of becoming, is now but a whisper, soon to vanish.

Like Marcus Aurelius, I want to know that my life has had purpose. How will my friends and family think about me at my funeral? What will they see as having mattered most at the end of my life?

Remember

As the Teacher pens his last words in Ecclesiastes, he calls us to remember (12:1). Remember what? Remember your Creator, the one who made you and determined the number of your days (Ps. 139:16). This is not asking us to recall what we know about God, an exercise of memory. This Hebrew word carries an implicit sense of action. When God remembers His people, it is by way of decisive action toward them, as He did when He remembered and rescued them out of slavery in Egypt (Ex. 2:24-25).

By telling us to remember God, the Teacher asks us to act decisively in strenuous activity right now and glorify God in our work. [1] What kind of activity? He mentions several things in Chapter 11: cast your bread on the waters in wise investments (v. 1), divide your wealth to prepare for uncertainty (vv. 2-5), sow your seed with work and don’t be idle (v. 6), rejoice and remove grief and anger and put away evil from yourself (vv. 8-10).

Then he tells us to do this right now before the evil day comes when old age incapacitates us (v. 1). The Teacher piles metaphor upon metaphor to depict the body breaking down and no longer able function in diligent activity: loss of eye sight (12:2), tremors, feeble legs, loss of teeth and unable to eat (vv. 3-4), loss of sleep and hearing, fear of heights, halting steps and difficulty in walking, loss of potency (v. 5), dementia, lack of blood circulation (v. 6), and finally death (v. 7). [2]

“What we do in life echoes in eternity.” – Gladiator

What Will Echo in Eternity?

So what do we do in life that will matter most before it ends? The Teacher has already told us: “Rejoice, young person, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the desire of your eyes” (11:9). Whatever you desire to do, do it diligently, with all your might, while you still have might. God gives us freedom to enjoy the life and work He has given us.

But that freedom is not without boundaries. As we choose, we must remember: “Fear God and keep His commands, for this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil” (12:13–14). Another way of saying this is to glorify God in all our activity. What we do in life will echo in eternity.

That is why the Teacher wants us to be people of knowledge, to live wisely, and to speak truthfully, because our life really matters as it echoes through time into eternity (12:9-10). All his advice comes from God, who shepherds us with words meant to prod us into action (v. 11). One action is to read more books to learn how to live wisely, but with a caution against excessiveness (v. 12). Taking this as an action item, I decided to join an online great books reading group.

Does our life have some purpose, and will our family and friends see what mattered most in our life? I hope mine does. I would want them to see that my purpose in life was to serve God in the vocation He gave me. For me, it was a career in plumbing, from journeyman to contractor to inspector to code development and technical engineering research. At the end of my life, I would want others to see that I used the gifts God gave me to install plumbing systems with excellence when I had the strength of body to do so. Later in life, I was diligently active in research to help plumbing engineers to better design their plumbing systems, using the strength of mind that I still have.

As long as our bodies can function, we should remember God in diligent activity. For me, diligent activity in retirement will be returning to school for an MA in Theology to serve my local church and pursue gospel writing. Let’s remember God our Creator with diligent activity in our callings and retirement for His glory, while enjoying the fruits of our labor with gratitude and rejoicing in the people in our lives. This matters most to me as I face the end of my life, and to hear God's affirmation—well done, good and faithful servant.

[1] Kaiser, Walter C. Ecclesiastes: Total Life. Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Moody Press, 1979.

[2] Ibid.