There are many ways of approaching the issue, “How to be a man of destiny.” My preferred approach is to boil it down to just one key question: What do we want to be remembered for when we die? Put another way, what would we like to be written on our epitaph or our tombstone? Although this is not something new, I can almost guarantee that most people will give you a blank look when posed with this stark question. “Oh, I haven’t seriously thought about that,” would probably be the typical response. But if we are serious about being a man of destiny, we will need to wrestle with the all important question of our legacy.

Thankfully, a portion of Scripture in Deuteronomy 34:5-12 provides an enlightening perspective to the issue. The passage records the passing away of Moses who was one of the most revered and prominent figures in the Bible. Guess who buried Moses at his death? It was certainly not members of the undertaker’s association or the hired hands from a casket company. Neither was it the elders of Israel who buried him, but God Himself did. God became Moses’ undertaker. It was a most extraordinary funeral. What an honor to be buried by none other than the God of the Universe Himself (Dt 34:6).

Understandably, the people grieved and wept over his death and mourned for thirty days. But no matter how much one mourns for the dead, the mourning will eventually stop (Dt 34:8). What will continue is the memory left behind by the deceased. Although Moses left behind no grave or monument (Dt 34:6), he left a powerful and an enduring memory which was preserved by God Himself not on a lonely tombstone in a secluded mountain cave, but in the eternal Word of God. God’s final tribute in memory of His servant Moses was astounding: “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt – to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel” (Dt 34:10-12).

Some people are of the view that Moses was not a man of destiny because he did not finish well. But I beg to differ because when it comes to the crunch, it is not so much what people think of us but what God thinks of us. Ultimately, it is not what people will remember us for but what God will remember us for. Some people will always remember Moses as the one who made a major blunder and disobeyed God when he struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it. They will always remember Moses as the leader of the Israelites who was disqualified from entering the Promised Land (Num 20:7-12). But God did not remember Moses in that way. God remembered Moses as one who knew Him face to face. He remembered Moses as a mighty man who did all the exploits and performed all the signs and wonders before Pharaoh.

What about us? What will we be remembered for?

There is a story told of a wife who remembered her late husband as a “Do it yourself man,” because every time she asked him to help her with the household chores, he would always say, “Do it yourself!”

Husbands, is that the way we want our wives to remember us in posterity? Certainly not! Most people would want to be remembered fondly in posterity. One man who is still remembered fondly by many people though he has long passed away from the scene is none other than John Sung, a well known and fiery preacher.

In the 1920s, John Sung had just earned his PhD degree in the United States. But as he sensed the call of God to preach the Word, he was led to forgo everything. As he was returning to China from the United States, he tore his PhD degree into pieces in order to commit to full-time Christian ministry. God used him mightily to spark off revivals in China and Southeast Asia in the 1930s. Many people were brought into the Kingdom of God and many lives radically transformed. One of them was Bishop Luke Choa, a former lecturer in Trinity Theological College where I graduated from.

I will never forget the morning when Bishop Luke Choa was speaking at the College Chapel. Halfway into the message, he started to talk about John Sung. As he shared about the man who had made such a great impact and left such a powerful memory and legacy in his life, he suddenly “came alive” and became so passionate. I could see it in his teary eyes. I could hear it in his voice choking with deep emotion. Even though John Sung had passed away nearly seventy years ago, one would have thought his encounter with John Sung had happened only yesterday because of the passionate manner of his sharing at chapel. Besides Bishop Choa, there have been thousands of other older Christians who have been radically impacted by John Sung’s ministry. Although he died many years ago, his memory still lives on in the lives and ministries of the people he impacted.

John Sung will always be remembered as the man who brought revival to China and Southeast Asia. Hitler will always be remembered for slaughtering six million Jews in a cold-blooded way in the Holocaust. Stalin will always be remembered for massacring millions of his own Russian people. John Kennedy will always be remembered for putting the first man on the moon. William Carey will always be remembered for being the father of modern missions. Mother Teresa will always be remembered for her compassion towards the downtrodden in the streets of Calcutta.

Bosses, what do you want your subordinates to remember you for? Fathers, what do you want your children to remember you for? Husbands, what do you want your wives to remember you for?

But the most important question we have to wrestle with is, what do we want God to remember us for? What memory will we leave behind not just for our loved ones or friends but God? What do we want written on our epitaph by God as He did to Moses? If we can honestly answer the question and devote and focus all our strength and passion towards achieving that which we want God to remember us for, we too, like Moses and John Sung, will be men of destiny.

A man of destiny is well aware that life’s greatest calling, as it was in the case of Jesus, is not only to live for God but to die for His glory. Preparing for our last day on earth, as it was with Jesus, is as sacred as living every day for God. Like Moses and John Sung, we too will die one day. Each life, both the living of it and the dying, is like a drama. And it is important that the scene closes properly because a brilliant opening act in a drama, as it is in life, can be spoiled by a poor ending. How we finish our life certainly matters much more than how we begin.

Since there are no “rehearsals” for funerals, we will only have one chance of ending well. Christ showed us how the closing lines of the drama of our lives should be triumphantly uttered, when He said, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30). Paul showed us how the closing lines of the drama of our lives should be gloriously uttered when he proclaimed, “…I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). And like Paul and Jesus, we too will have to learn our closing lines at the end of our lives well beforehand so that when the final curtain in the drama of our lives falls, we will not finish our lives with regrets or shame but with a climatic note of triumph.

Let me share with you a fitting poem I composed which speaks about how a man of destiny ought to live for God in the light of the fleeting nature of time and the brevity of life. The essence of this poem substantially encapsulates the philosophy of my own life.

Only One Life
You have only one life to live,
So be focused and make it count for Him.
You will be held accountable for how you live,
So redeem the time and live every moment for Him.

It’s not the length of your life that counts
But the depth of your life that really matters.
Jesus lived to only thirty-three,
Yet He obtained man’s salvation on Calvary’s tree.

No man knows what tomorrow may bring,
Currency crisis and the sickly financial scene.
Earthquakes, famines, and tornadoes may follow,
Dashing the hope of any tomorrow.

Life is transient and unpredictable,
So work, serve while you are still able.
Live each day as if it is the last,
So you will not regret if today should be your last.

Never serve for the applause of man,
Always serve for the approval of God.
For it is God you must personally account,
The next time when Jesus comes around.

When we have finally reached Heaven’s shore,
I’m sure we’ll have the grandest Appreciation Ball.
And God Himself will be there in person,
To commend you: “Thou good and faithful servant.”

There is a saying that goes “Be ready for your last moment by being ready every moment.” If you live in such a way and treat each day as if it were the last, the sudden knowledge of your impending death will never shake or take you by surprise. On the contrary, you will go about your daily routine with total serenity and peaceful calm. That is how you will leave a lasting legacy by making your life count for eternity and be a man of destiny.

Rev. George Ong, an ordained Minister with the Assemblies of God, is an itinerant speaker who preaches in many churches of different denominations, both in Singapore and overseas. He is also a certified trainer of UnveilinGLORY Seminar (Cat & Dog Theology). The Seminar has been consistently rated highly by many churches. To date, he has written 12 humor books. Another batch of 12 NEW humor books is slated to be out in two years’ time. If you wish to invite him for speaking engagements, please contact him: georgeog@singnet.com.sg or (65) 65634704. Website: www.revgeorgeong.com

The New International Version of the Bible has been referenced.