by ProfDave, ©2021
(Dec. 7, 2021) — Is there any meaning to life? Is there any purpose to your existence? What is the object of the game of life? Bumper sticker philosophy: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” The discouraging reality is, “In the long run, we’re all dead” (Josef Altholz).
“How much did the billionaire leave behind?”
“All of it” (traditional).
Perhaps the most common – and most elusive – objective would be happiness. The more we pursue it, the more miserable we become. Others seek fame, power, sex or significance. How about success? Fulfillment? Love?
Note: most of those things are temporary. Fame, for example: how many of the famous men of Rome do you remember? Power fades with office and is swallowed up in death. Sex fades long before. The ability to enjoy pleasure is dulled by use until our strength and our senses fade with age. Glasses and hearing aids can only do so much, but there is no aid for the dulling of taste. “‘Vanity, vanity, all is vanity,’ saith the preacher” (Solomon).
What is life all about? Meaning, purpose, objective, fulfillment and significance are words we give to a deep longing that haunts the silence and darkness of our hearts. The cat is content with a full belly and a warm sunbeam, but neither survival nor surfeit satisfies us. The dog finds fulfillment in pleasing its master, but we find no worthy master.
Solomon, 10th century BC, wrote about the human predicament in Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. By any measure he had it all: reputed the wisest man of all time, the wealthiest man of his day, enjoying all the pleasures that money could buy and every woman he wanted (1000 officially). [How did he keep track of their anniversaries?] He concluded: enjoy your work, your meals and the wife of your youth – and, last but not least, “fear God.” Hmmh. Perhaps we should start there: “Remember thy Creator in the days of your youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
The Westminster Catechism has a ready answer. The “chief end of man” is to “glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” It makes sense. Given a Creator, who did not make mankind by accident, it makes sense that life should revolve around His purpose. If we are designed by an intelligent Creator, then we should find our highest fulfillment in His intent for us – that for which we are made. A ¾ inch wrench works best turning a ¾ inch nut because that is what is designed for, right? You can use it to pound a nail or stir your coffee, but that is not what it is for.
It may be too much for our finite minds to comprehend why God would make time and space, or anything at all, but our own being requires a reason. From that mysterious reason, we may deduce a less mysterious reason for our own existence. Fortunately, the Christian revelation gives us a lot of help. First, the creation narrative reveals that mankind was intended to be God’s regents over the earth and everything in it. Obviously, much has gone wrong in our mandate, but material reality is not to be despised. “God has given us all things richly to enjoy.” But there is more.
Christians find meaning in life in the enjoyment of God’s good gifts, in human relationships, in God’s purpose, and in God Himself. God has given us “all things richly to enjoy” (I Timothy 6:17). This world is full of beauty – sight, sound, taste, smell and sensations. Living for pleasure as an end in itself is a dead-end but as we receive good things with thanksgiving from His hand they become windows to heaven. We feel the smile of God.
The next level of Christian meaning – and pleasure – is relationships. After all, relationship (the Holy Trinity) is the very structure of God. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian. Even in solitary confinement we are connected spiritually with the Holy Spirit and the invisible communion of the saints. We have a “forever family” in our communities of faith and small groups. “Therefore, confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). Everyone should have a mentor or sponsor and at least two accountability persons of the same sex who have the right to examine their spiritual progress and ask hard questions. Then there are friends with whom we share interests and parts of our lives. There’s so much more to enjoy!
Not every relationship is pure pleasure on a given day, of course, any more than everything in our environment. We are not in Eden anymore. But we still find meaning in our relationships. Two of God’s greatest gifts are marriage and family. In the sacred union of man and woman He has given us an analogy of the heavenly unity of ourselves with the Trinity.
Not everyone has a spouse, but we all had parents. At some point we all lose them, but it is a great evil to lose them early. The Bible tells us that God offers Himself as father to the fatherless and husband to the widow. He promises that even if our mothers forget us – the maternal bond He has built into women makes it exceedingly rare – He will pick us up. I have found Him a comfort to the widower, too. The Bible and the ancient Hebrews put great stock in their ancestry and their descendants. That is why the Torah is full of “begats.” Children are a gift from the Lord. “May you see your children’s children” says the blessing in Psalm 128. Raising them to know God is one of life’s highest achievements. Not everyone experiences the gift of begetting or bearing children, but we can find meaning in adopting, educating, or spiritually nurturing those others have engendered. Investing in the future is a source of meaning and significance. And such a future is promised. We don’t go to heaven alone!
Is there a purpose for your life? We have already discussed how the Christian worldview answers the question of origins with a purposeful Creator. We may not comprehend God’s reasons but we may assume that He has reasons for what He made – even you! There is great meaning in a life which is ruled by purpose, not by chance. The title of Rick Warren’s popular book, The Purpose Driven Life, says it all.
Once you determine that there is purpose, not chaos, in the cosmos, the next step is to determine yours. When God put your DNA together in your mother’s womb, what did He have in mind? What you would become, your happiness in this world and the next, would depend on your conscious alignment with His purpose. Like snowflakes and fingerprints, each purpose is different. The ultimate purpose for a Christian is beyond this world – “to enjoy Him forever.” For life down here there may be a vocation, a calling – perhaps more than one. As a PK (preacher’s kid) I heard a lot about the call to preach (didn’t get one). For most of us, however, the call of God is simply to follow – one day at a time – seeking “His kingdom and His righteousness,” doing the next right thing.
What are you here for? You can make up something, or you can look to the One who made you. As a child of God your existence is set in an eternal framework. “This world is not my home,” the song says. You may see yourself as a soldier deployed in a foreign land, on a series of missions. One day you will get on the plane and fly home to a hero’s welcome. Won’t that be grand?
Young Christians typically go through a time of searching, “what is God’s will for my life?” Revelation gives direct guidance, but it is qualitative. God seems to be concerned more with our spiritual location than our physical location, what kind of a spouse we are rather than whose spouse we are, and who we are rather than what we do. “This is the will of God, that you may be sanctified” (made holy – I Thessalonians 4:3), that you “give thanks in all things” (5:18), and that “by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men” (I Peter 2:15). So, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
You may assume that God’s purpose for you is consistent with His character, what you would do best and what you would find most satisfying. Any honest work is holy if it is dedicated to God. Generally, we may assume your Creator has given you what He wants you to use. Sometimes we are either mistaken about our abilities or God gives us abilities for the task as we go along. Moses thought he could not lead but became one of the greatest leaders in history. Likewise, Gideon never saw the warrior exploits coming. If you don’t have a burning bush or an angelic visitation, however, you may begin with “what is that in your hand?”
Secondly, what has God given to you that can you give to mankind? A meaningful, purposeful life is not all about you. You don’t need the Bible to tell you that those who live for themselves are miserable. Jesus said, “He that saves his life will lose it; he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” Huh? It sounds counterintuitive, but it is true. It is in giving our lives to a cause bigger than ourselves that we find fulfillment – even in death (after all, we are going to die anyway). Make it count!
For a Christian sense of meaning and purpose there is one more level, the highest of all. God himself is at the center of a truly Christian worldview. As the author of creation, it is He that gives us pleasure in His gifts – the beauty of the earth, of music, of the enjoyment of our senses. As the giver of our personhood, it is He who gives us the pleasure of human relationships, of marriage, of family, of friends and of community. He is the highest relationship of all. It is God himself who offers himself to us, inviting us to walk with him daily in time and in an eternity beyond our imagination. With St. Paul, we would discard all our abilities and achievements for the glory of “knowing Him, the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering” (Philippians 3:10).
The presence of God is the purpose for which you were made. Revelation tells us that mortals cannot “see” the face of God and live. It would blow all our fuses and burn us to a cinder. After death will be another matter. The brokenness that condemns us to mortality handicaps our experience of God. The Bible word for that brokenness is sin – intentional and unintentional. We are born alienated from our Maker and continue that alienation by our selfishness and rebellion. Yet within us from the first is the potential, the god-shaped vacuum that only He can fill – and which He is more than willing to enter. We are made for a God-centered life. Receiving the true One, we may begin to “practice the presence of God’ (Brother Lawrence). The experiences of this world distract us, tempt us, addict us and sometimes become rival gods to us – or they may point us to Him. As long as you are alive, He is not done with you – done drawing you, loving you, attracting you, perfecting you and giving you purpose.