The Meaning of Life
Many of us seem to question if our lives are fulfilling or if they have any meaning. Especially now in these troubling times, it is easy to feel adrift, just kind of meandering around, with no real purpose or goal. Every now and then, to fill that void that is inside, many of us turn to drugs, alcohol, and in some case high risk behavior. We’re trying to fill that emptiness inside with external stuff and that rarely works. Today I want to talk about life’s meaning. Asking some questions and trying to find some answers that make sense. For example, why does it sometimes seem that my life lacks meaning? Is there a deeper meaning to life? How can I figure out and understand the meaning of my own life?
Why do we sometimes think our lives have no meaning? 
In Ecclesiastes 3:19, we read “For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity.” the reality is that often things seem meaningless, it’s like who cares what I do or don’t do, if I’m good or bad, the end result will be the same. If we build our lives around selfish or trivial things, that can also add to the feeling, again from Ecclesiastes 4:4 “I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind.”
If our only focus is on stuff, money, and things that will eventually go away, once we achieve material success we can still feel empty, Ecclesiastes 5:10, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.”
So what does give our lives meaning? As a Christian, I believe we are called to take part in God’s work for this world 2 Corinthians 5:14 “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;”. And then again in John 20:21, “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’” The first scripture tells us clearly that we are all a part of something far greater than ourselves. We belong to a family, that exists to do better things for others, as a Christian I am motivated by what is in John, it is up to each of us to go out and make the world better.
Too many Christians now sit at home and whine and gripe about the way of the world, posting angry diatribes on Facebook or comments on Twitter complaining about what is going on. Instead I believe we all should be talking to others and showing others that Jesus lives through us, sadly that is easier said than done, it is difficult for us to sometimes understand that concept.
But how can we understand the meaning of our life? Search for wisdom, in today’s world we all want answers, we all want solutions, but sometimes we don’t really want to understand, we just want a quick fix. I think we need to the words in Proverbs 2:3-4, “For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding;
If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures;”. If we work as hard trying to find the answers to the deep issues that are facing us as hard as we do seeking money, things, and power then we have a fighting chance for some peace in our lives. Then again in Proverbs 4:7, “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.” There is no magic bullet or potion, it takes time and effort to really get to know ourselves. Ask God for help, you don’t have to stand on a street corner, and yell and scream, just quietly ask Him to help…Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” It really doesn’t require much more than that, simply go into a quiet room, or as I do go for a walk in a nature area, or even a neighborhood park,