3 Things to Remember About a Meaningful Life
No one has a meaningless life.
Ecclesiastes 9 says: But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Is it better to live or to die? Depends on who you ask.
All go into death. George Bernard Shaw once wrote: The statistics on death are quite impressive. One out of one people die. I think we’ve had a pretty good sample rate so far to be within an acceptable range of error. Woody Allen said: I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens. I think a lot of people feel that way because they enjoy life.
So what about life? No one has a meaningless life. All things have significance to God, both the good and the bad. All things should have significance to us as well, because they give us the opportunity to meditate on the goodness of God and how our lives are governed in view of eternity. I believe that all events have meaning because they matter to someone. From one ideology to another, one instance of joy and hope to another, one failed attempt to overcome addiction to another, all are significant in how they portray meaning to us as individuals.
A few observations on meaning in life:
(1) Meaning is fulfilled in what we are willing to place in God’s hands
The question is: do we lay our sense of meaning into the hands of God for His approval and His redemption? I want my sense of meaning to be in line with God’s sense of meaning, because in it I find the opportunity to rise above the distinctions between righteousness and wickedness. All are wicked in their sins. All of man’s heart is full of evil. But God, in Christ, gives this life a better sense of deliverance.
Meaning is a matter of perspective, but I want to rise above that. I want meaning to be fulfilled, and it can only come to true completion when it brings us closer to God and His revelation of Jesus Christ. All other meaning is trapped in controversy; people try to make sense out of life while ignoring the reality of God and His promises. I find that as a sad reality of the Fall of man. Why not look to grace? Why not think on hope?
Place all of your realities into the hands of God, and both the good and the bad will glorify what God is doing in your life.
(2) Don’t let people try to find meaning in your life after your dead
What good is that? What does that say about how you were living? If people can’t make sense of your life while you are alive, what they say about you in death will simply be a redacting of the truth. Sure, everything has meaning, but reveal Christ in it. Let the life that you have now be filled with significance, because you should be around to hear how others found righteous meaning in your pursuits.
(3) God can give us meaning even when we look for the wrong things
Zacchaeus was a tax collector who had gone far from God, until Jesus happened to come through his city. Zacchaeus wanted to see who He was and what He was about, and Jesus chose him out of all of the people to be the one whose house He would stay at. Zacchaeus has one of the most incredible encounters with our Lord, and we don’t even know what was said. But, the Bible says, that after spending time with Jesus, Zacchaeus has a complete reversal of character and takes on the mantle of being a follower of Jesus.
Zacchaeus was looking for the celebrity in Jesus. Jesus was looking for the sinner in Zacchaeus. That was who He would reach. The sinner becomes the righteous because of Jesus Christ.
Celebrity status can also be a powerful thing. Many people use their celebrity status to point the way to Jesus, and we can commend them for that. Their larger than life appeal does not send them spiraling into a life full of hedonism and rehab, it keeps them focused on the mission that God has presented them. They continue to serve, not seeking to be served.
Celebrity status can also be a way in which we are led to God. If we’re seeking to be close to a celebrity, God just might be trying to tell us something about ourselves and the way we can idolize people. We might be looking for something earthly and find a Heavenly message. We might just find a meaning hidden in the agenda that was once far from God. But Jesus is there to redeem the wrong. He can do that for all.
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No one has a meaningless life. No matter the story, no matter the circumstances, no matter the stage of faith, let us help all people point and be pointed to the eternity God celebrates. Amen.
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