Zusya's deathbed anxiety...

While on his death bed, noticing Rabbi Zusya was greatly agitated, his disciples asked him what was going on, whereupon he said,"in the world to come to which I am being called, I will perhaps be asked why I wasn't like Abraham or Moses...I have an answer at hand... but the question I dread is "why weren't you Zusya? why weren't you all you could have been?" Is this dread well-founded?

Yes, I think Rabbi Zusya's concern is founded—but it depends on what one believes about God and human life.

The story is often told in the Jewish Hasidic tradition to emphasize that God does not primarily compare us to other people. 

The deepest question is not, "Why weren't you Moses?" but "Did you become the person you were created to be?"

From a biblical perspective, there is some support for this idea:

God called Moses to one task and Abraham to another.

Jesus spoke of servants entrusted with different talents (Matthew 25). The issue was not that one servant had fewer talents than another, but whether he faithfully used what he had.

Paul the Apostle writes that believers have different gifts but are one body (1 Corinthians 12).

At the same time, for a Christian, the question may go even deeper than Zusya's. The gospel teaches that no one fully becomes all he could have been. We all fall short. 

If the final judgment depended solely on our achievement of our potential, everyone would have reason to tremble.

The Christian hope is that God asks not only, "What did you do with your life?" but also, "What did you do with My Son?" 

Salvation rests not on perfect self-actualization but on God's grace in Christ.

That said, even a forgiven believer may still hear a question something like:

"I gave you years, gifts, opportunities, people to love, and a calling. What did you do with them?"

For someone in his late seventies, as you have often reflected on aging and purpose, the question is not merely about the past. As long as God grants another day, there is still time to become more fully the person He intends you to be.

This connects beautifully with Jesus' words:

"If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23)

The ultimate goal is not simply becoming "the best version of myself." It is becoming a dwelling place of God—living in fellowship with Him. 

In that sense, the question is not only "Why weren't you Zusya?" but also "Did you let Me make My home in you?"