Randy Pausch was a respected professor at Carnegie Mellon University when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006. Pausch fought hard, but the cancer spread ferociously.

A month after he was told he had 6 to 9 months of life left, Pausch gave his now famous “last lecture.” A devoted family man (wife Jai and three beautiful kids), Pausch’s concluding months evidenced his desire to end well, to pass on what truly mattered. “I’m attempting to put myself in a bottle that will one day wash up on the beach for my children,” Pausch said.

The apostle Paul felt this same impulse. As his life neared its end, Paul wrote a direct and heartfelt letter to Timothy, his young protégé. Sensing that “the time of [his] death” was fast approaching, Paul summarized his days, providing an epitaph of sorts (2 Timothy 4:6). “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” (v.7).

What joy Paul must have felt as he looked back over his life and realized that he had completed what God had given him to do. He had spent his energies and hopes and reputation on purposes that were true and good. Yet Paul was not suggesting he had lived perfectly. He had always been quick to own up to his shady history. The essence of his life, however, had been bent toward joining God in His purposes in the world. As a result, Paul neared his life’s end with joyful hope. “The prize awaits me,” he said (v.8).

When we near death, will we find satisfaction in the way we’ve spent our resources and offered our time, and in the ideals and causes that captured our heart and attention? Will we have given ourselves to God’s designs? Will we know the pleasure of a story ending well?