What question is being asked of you?

The following is an excerpt from the book Fate and Destiny by Michael Meade:

Each individual life is a specific question being asked of the world and the answer is not complete until the end of the road is reached.

It's like the story of the old rabbi who lay upon his deathbed as the final hour drew near. His name was Zushya and he had lived a long enough life. He was a holy man who had studied scholarly texts and taught others for many years. He ha become widely known and respected. More than that, he was revered and loved by his students for his honesty and for his wit.

Now that his time had come, his faithful students gathered around to share in his final moments. With characteristic honesty, the old teacher told his students the truth of this situation. He explained with the hour of death approaching he feared having to face God. "I am afraid," he said, "of God's final justice. I fear that I will be punished in the world to come."

The students were shocked; how could such a thing be possible? Their teacher was an exceptional religious leader who had taught them generously and guided them wisely. Now, the students began to reassure the teacher: "Rabbi, you are a pure and righteous man. You have shown the leadership of Abraham, the courage of Jacob, the vision of Moses, and the moral fortitude of the greatest prophets. What do you have to fear in facing God?"

With his final breath Zushya replied to his students, "I am not afraid that God will ask me, "Zushya, why were you not more like Abraham? Why were not not more like Moses? I can answer honestly that I did not have the god-given abilities of Abraham or the talents of Moses. But, if God asks me, "Zushya, why were you not more like Zushya? For that I have no answer at all!" In so saying, Zushya passed into the world that waits beyond this one.

We qualify for the next world by living uniquely and creatively in this one. The old teacher made his death meaningful and memorable by stating the case for the uniqueness of each life.

The saints and prophets, the great philosophers and wise teachers may be proper models for finding the paths of discovery, but each life must eventually become a revelation of itself. Simply imitating a Moses doesn't satisfy the question that the divine has for each soul. Living by religious rules and precepts can open a path of learning and development, but in the end no outer model can lead us all the way to becoming who we are at the core of ourselves.

Seen this way, the final judgment will not pivot upon doctrines or dogmas; for there is no theory or system that can substitute for a life unlived, for a story undeveloped, for a fate not faced, for a destiny not embraced. That's the final lesson, the last word, and essential wisdom that the good rabbi was honest enough to communicate with his final breath.

Moses began being Moses when he was placed in a basket and given to the river of life. Later, he knew how to part the waters and lead others from bondage to safety. The waters held both his fate and his destiny; the knowledge he needed was within him even when he was abandoned. The basket served as the particulars of his fate from which his destiny slowly unfolded. Didn't Noah become awash with dreams before he could receive divine instructions on how to fashion ships and survive floods? Each became a prophet in their own way and each is remembered for the way they became themselves.