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The Meaning Of Life

What is your meaning of life? Do you know your purpose for being on this planet? Or are you just drifting along with a sense of boredom and emptiness? Does everything you do end in frustration?

The frustrating feeling of emptiness, uselessness or helplessness - of not doing anything important or worthwhile - invades every level of society and almost every age group. Many of the problems of the youth are caused by the sense that life has no value or meaning. On the other end of the scale, even the most successful and important people often suffer from a sense of emptiness. They have achieved all their goals but have still not found a real meaning of life. They may push themselves harder to achieve more or turn to a life of pleasure, all in a vain attempt to find the meaning of life.

Humanism and the Church have often worked together to create this sense of "no meaning of life." Humanism actively promotes its religious dogma of evolution clothed in an illusion of science. People believe they came from slime and cease to exist upon death. They think that whatever they accomplish ends with them. They see no meaning of life. [see Evolution] They are taught they are just an accident that happened, and their lives mean nothing and have no real value. What a bunch of nonsense! Yet many people buy into this either because they have never been taught anything else or because they want an excuse to act selfishly.

Add to this the fact we are constantly being force-fed fear of impending, world-destroying disasters. If we are not being told about Global Warming, we are being told to fear the new Ice Age. Everything causes cancer. Aids will destroy the earth. Wars will bomb us out of existence. Covid-19 will end the world as we know it. [For an exposure of some of these see Junk Science.] Nothing will last, so there is no point in trying. Live for the moment. Fear-driven people cannot believe in a meaningful existence.

The church often jumps into this doom and gloom. Some churches actually support the Satanic lie of evolution, or some compromise with it. More often, they promote a false "end-times" agenda, which teaches that the Beast, the AntiChrist, and/or World War III will destroy everything. So, again, what is the point of trying? Why live and invest for the future if there will be no future? The best these churches can offer is: "Jesus will rescue us before it gets really bad." Yes, Jesus is returning...but He is not coming back on a rescue mission. He is returning for a victorious church. [See Is The Church Destined For Victory Or Defeat?]

There are probably other reasons for feeling there is a lack of meaning of life, even among Christians, but the above are some significant reasons. So what is the meaning of life?

The True Meaning Of Life

The meaning of life is found in our relationship with Jesus.

The true meaning of life is exciting, giving us a purpose to press through the hard times and a reason to exercise self-control. As with all things, the search for the meaning of life - including your life specifically - must begin with God. If this sounds boring to you, it is only because you have believed Satan's lies either through humanism or some churches.

God created Adam and Eve to have a dynamic relationship with Himself. The driving center of mankind is a relationship with God. Think of it. You can actually know the Living God. It is not a religious ceremony, not religious activities, nor a list of dos and don'ts; you can come before God Himself. The One Who created all that is, the One that made you, wants to know you personally. You are special. And you can know God; it is possible. Once you enter this relationship, the meaning of life is possible, but not automatic. There is more to it than that...as you can see from the empty lives of many Christians.

It is impossible to find the true meaning of life apart from knowing God through the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the foundation on which all else is built. If you are not a Christian, you should read An Introduction To Life. Coming to Jesus is entering a new world. It is more exciting and challenging than exploring space or the depths of the sea. It has wonders...and dangers. The rest of this article assumes the reader is a Christian.

Assuming we have come under the free gift of the cleansing Blood of Jesus and yielded to His Lordship, we can begin to enter the meaning of life God has for us.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:3

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 1 John 5:20

The blunt reality is that we miss the meaning of life, even as Christians, because God is not the center of our life. More often than not, we are the center. Everything we do is ultimately intended to benefit ourselves. God is certainly a part of our lives, but we are the important ones. It may be on a self-conscious level, but we are still the center.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer. 17:9

The Solution To The
Search For The Meaning Of Life

The sense of hopelessness, emptiness, or frustration with life is the Holy Spirit shouting that something is wrong. It is a red light flashing that something is seriously - fatally - out of order. It is a sign that our heart is deceiving us about what is really going on inside. We may try to cover it up or silence it by serving or giving to others - even self-sacrificially. But if our motive is wrong, it will not work. In fact, the search for the meaning of life is self-centred. Finding the meaning of life is a side benefit of serving God. If we make it the prime objective, we will never find it.

If you find the above couple of paragraphs offensive, I'm sorry, but reality doesn't change just to make you happy. So, if we feel hopeless, empty, or frustrated with life, if there is no meaning to it, what should we do?

God has the solution. We come to God and repent [yes, even Christians need to repent - often!]. We confess to Him, and perhaps to others, that we have sinned by keeping our will at the center of our lives. We have judged and acted according to our own will. [This is often revealed when our lifestyle, families, voting, relationships, businesses, etc., are run by what we think is best rather than searching out and obeying the will of God.]

Confession is admitting what we did wrong and taking responsibility for it. Repentance builds on that and involves forsaking our sins. Repentance means we are committed to changing our ways through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The meaning of life is found in submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ. He does not negotiate. The only terms accepted by the Lord Jesus Christ are unconditional surrender. We cannot keep ourselves at the center of life and follow Christ. It is just that simple.

After we have confessed, repented, and unconditionally surrendered our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, what then? Then, we set about doing the will of God in our lives and in this world. How do we do that?

We develop our relationship with God. This involves many things.

First, it involves studying the Bible to discover Who our God really is and what He really wants. It is good to read books or reports about the Bible [like this one] and to use the Bible helps, but we must also know how to go to the Bible and study the truth of God for ourselves. This is a skill. It takes time and diligence to develop.

Second, it involves prayer. Prayer is talking to God. If we want to know someone, we need to talk with them and listen to them. The same is true of God. If we want to know Him, we must talk with Him and listen to Him. Everything God says is in total agreement with His written Word.

Third, it involves a commitment to a local, Bible-believing Church. We give our tithes and offerings in obedience to our Lord, Who is also our Lover. We follow and support the local leadership. They are God's representatives responsible before God for us. They deserve our respect and submission.

Fourth, it involves practicing the Word of God in our everyday life. This can be extremely challenging - but you wanted adventure, didn't you? It often means we must go against the "way things are done." Christians must be people of principle - based on the Word of God - not driven by emotions and feelings. We must be willing to let go of anything, including our long-cherished ideas, that do not conform to the Word of God.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Eph. 2:10

Think about that above verse. Before God even created the world, He designed exciting things for you to do that would help others and fulfill you as a person.

If you do the above, you will discover the meaning of life. You will be fulfilled, do worthwhile things that last for eternity, and have a great sense of completeness. Inner peace and joy will flood your life even when the outward circumstances are uncomfortable or dangerous. Can you find the meaning of life and lead a rich and fulfilling life? Certainly, the main question is: Are you willing to do what is necessary to have it? Many people would rather lead empty, depressing lives as long as they can be the center.

For more information about Glenn Davis, see our About Glenn page or visit Glenn Davis Books.

Please note: We no longer have the commenting feature [maybe again in the future]. Joshua Institute students who have questions or comments on their courses can use the contact button and mention the course name and lesson number in the email. Thank you. Glenn