Famous Last Words

I spent the weekend of the 20th anniversary of 9-11 watching various documentaries commemorating the awful day. Among the heartbreaking stories was that of Barbara Olson, who died on a plane. Her husband, Ted, recounted the events of the day – how he first learned she was on a hijacked airliner – and when he realized that it had crashed into the Pentagon. The couple hadn’t seen one another that morning; Ted left the house while Barbara was still asleep. After the attacks and what had to be a long, harrowing day, he returned home and found a note from his wife on his pillow, expressing her love for him and her joy at their marriage. Of course she had no way of knowing that what she penned would be her final words. While the story was gut wrenching, I marveled at what a lovely sentiment this wife had left for her husband to cherish in her absence.
 
A recent meme on Facebook says – Speak to people in such a way that, if they died the next day, you’d be satisfied with the last thing you said to them. Between reliving our horrible 9-11 nightmare, and recent posts about the world’s impending end and Jesus’ return – (and if you are a Bible reader you know that this could happen later today, or 1000 years from now) – I considered the hatred, the discord, the division in our country, in our society, in our families and friendships, and what final words we might find ourselves feasting on if it all went away tomorrow.
 
Scripture is very specific about the power of words; a simple Google search finds over 80 references !! from sweet – Gracious words are like a honeycomb! – to sour – How can you speak good, when you are evil?! I love words and wordplay, puns and pundits, and always admire alliteration.  I also look back ruefully at some of my words, ill-timed or spoken in anger.
 
In the current climate of post 9-11 wariness; of weird worldwide viruses, of a culture that seems hell bent on being bent towards hell – we find solace in the “instruction book” written by prophets and apostles, the Holy Bible. And we find comfort in the last words of our Lord: And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.