“There is no downside for me leaving, not in the slightest.” These were some of Tim Keller’s last words before passing away on May 19, 2023. Though He felt optimistic about joining His Lord at the gates of heaven, the many people he left behind did not feel so joyful. As a pastor, scholar, husband, father, grandfather, church planter, and cofounder of The Gospel Coalition, Tim Keller left quite a legacy. Through the many books he authored, Christians around the nation were encouraged, equipped, and challenged in their faith. He was a man filled with wisdom, which spilled out not only onto the page but also on his social media channels, where he posted frequent quotes that received thousands of shares.
One of his quotes that most influenced my everyday life, faith, and thinking is from His book, The Meaning of Marriage, where he states:
“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.”
So in honor of the legacy he left behind, I want to take you back on a journey through the last year of his life. The following quotes are taken from Facebook and Twitter posts from the last twelve months before He passed away. I cannot assure you that the quotes were from that day since many of his quotes were reposted and reused frequently, but I can say that these were some of the words that were on His mind throughout the past year. As we honor His legacy, we can also learn from His wisdom. So here are the top 12 Tim Keller quotes from the past year:
May 3, 2022 – 12 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
“To the degree you truly behold — gaze at, grasp, relish, internalize, rejoice in — the Gospel, to that degree the fears of your life will be undermined.”
June 25, 2022 – 11 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
“The underlying, ultimate motive of all sin is to be like God.”
July 13, 2022 – 10 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
Christianity may be the most body-positive religion in the world…God made matter and physical bodies, and saw that it was all good…In Jesus Christ, God himself took on a human body which he still has…and someday he is going to give us resurrected bodies.
August 11, 2022 – 9 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
Everything sad is going to come untrue and it will somehow be greater for having once been broken and lost.
September 27, 2022 – 8 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
Prayer is like waking up from a nightmare to reality. We laugh at what we took so seriously inside the dream. We realize that all is truly well. Of course, prayer can have the opposite effect; it can puncture illusions and show us we are in more spiritual danger than we thought.
October 25, 2022 – 7 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
Adam wasn’t lonely because he was imperfect but because he was perfect. Loneliness–the ache for friends– is not the result of sin.
November 7, 2022 – 6 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
Often what seem to be our deepest desires are really just our loudest desires and as my children have taught me, being the loudest doesn’t make you right.
December 31, 2022 – 5 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
Jesus sat in the midst of joy sipping the coming sorrow, so we who believe in him and who know that the future is unimaginable bliss (1 Cor 2:9) can sit in the midst of sorrow and sip the coming joy.
January 20, 2023 – 4 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
You should never go to God because he’s useful, a means to an end. Go because he’s beautiful, loved for himself alone. And yet there’s nothing more useful for life-change than finding God beautiful.
February 22, 2023 – 3 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
Self-deception is not the worst thing you can do, but it’s the means by which we do the very worst things. The sin that is most distorting your life right now is often the one you can’t see.
March 17, 2023 – 2 Months Before Tim Keller’s Death
Doubt your doubts. Be skeptical of your own skepticism. Why? Because doubts are always based on unprovable beliefs that are not being doubted at the moment. Identify those beliefs and question them too.
April 13, 2023 – 1 Month Before Tim Keller’s Death
We’re not going to be taken out of this world into heaven, but heaven is going to come down at the end of time to renew this world. (Rev 21-22)
May 8, 2023 – Tim Keller’s Last Month This Side of Heaven
In the end, it’s the joy and wonder of the gospel that will change you permanently. Only that experience sufficiently reprograms the heart.
What’s your favorite Tim Keller quote? Comment below with a quote you’d like to add. He has so many that are filled with wisdom and really leave me chewing and ruminating on His words. My hope is that as we grieve his death, we can meditate on these words all the more and apply them to our lives. Pick a quote to write down on an index card and stick it to your bathroom mirror. And now, since I just can’t help myself, here’s one more quote for the road:
“When people say, “I know God forgives me, but I can’t forgive myself,” they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important than God’s.” ― Timothy Keller, as written in the book Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to learn and be challenged by your servant Tim Keller. Bless those at his church and ministry who are feeling the weight of His empty chair, and comfort His family who are feeling his empty spot in family pictures. May we all strive to love and serve you like him and rejoice in the fact that he has now joined that great cloud of witnesses that’s gone before!
