If you’ve ever had those moments when you throw up your hands and question, “Why am I doing this?”, you’re not alone.
I’m not talking about those moments when you forget what you’re doing …
- “Why did I come into this room?”
… or question your sanity.
- “Why am I arguing with a three-year-old over the merits of Batman over Spiderman?”
- “Why did I waste two hours of my life watching an Elvis movie?”
I’m referring to those moments when you question the whole point of … well, everything. If that’s you, you’re not alone.
Pondering the meaning of life increased when we hit the global pandemic just a few years ago. Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said: “A large majority still lean toward there being an ultimate purpose for a person’s life, but instead of escaping the pandemic with thoughts of something greater, far fewer strongly hold such a view. A growing number of Americans have become open to the idea that this might be as good as it gets.”
“This might be as good as it gets.” What a sad conclusion. That reminds me of the oft-quoted sentiment:
“Life is hard. Then you die.”
This viewpoint is not simply the result of the way life is these days. Humanity throughout the ages has struggled with finding meaning. So much of religion and philosophy has been human attempts to give life meaning … or to explain why life is meaningless. But culture gets it wrong on both counts. Life can have meaning, but it doesn’t come from religion.
Meaning comes from God and a relationship with Him—and that has nothing to do with religion. Through religion, we attempt to reach God, but that is fruitless and futile. We can’t reach God. On our best days, we miss the mark of reaching God.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
But God has reached down to us. Jesus came to us, died to remove our sins, and gave us freedom and hope—eternal freedom and hope. And there is nothing meaningless or empty about that!
Apart from Jesus Christ, life is meaningless.
In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon kept repeating the idea that life is meaningless “under the sun.” Living life “under the sun” is to view life as if there is nothing “above the sun”—and that would be meaningless. But when we see things from a heavenly perspective—God’s perspective—we discover a God who creates with purpose. There is a plan to what He does, He has a purpose for us, and joy resides in finding our meaning in the One who created us in His image.
So much of life seems meaningless, but not from God’s perspective. I’m going to trust Him, follow Him wholeheartedly, and let Him work all things out in His time. As Solomon said,
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecc. 3:11).
Do you want purpose and meaning in your life? Trust Jesus. Follow Jesus. Serve Jesus. In Him, it all comes together.
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).
Subscribe to this blog at the top of the page! And encourage others by sharing this post.
For a printable version: click here.
This post supports the study “Purpose Questioned” in Bible Studies for Life and YOU.
Podcast
Join Lynn Pryor and Chris Johnson as they discuss this topic:
Banner photo by sualk61 on flickr.
Lynn Pryor 
My wife is a huge Elvis fan and she enjoys watching Elvis movies. She is also a critical care nurse dealing with patients daily that may live or die. She has the opportunity to witness to many in their last minutes. She would not appreciate the comment about Elvis and “wasting 2 hours”. A little insensitive.
LikeLike
[heart] Ron Parham reacted to your message:
LikeLike
The Lifeway pie chart doesn’t seen to represent the number of us who have found meaning and our purpose. That would be interesting.
LikeLike
The chart only asks how often people think about purpose, not whether or not they found purpose. Many believers would put themselves in the 23% who never think about purpose because they are content and secure in the purpose they’ve found in Christ. Yet other Christians might say they think about it daily because they engage in worshipful reflection on the fact that Christ has given them purpose. You can read the full report here: https://research.lifeway.com/2021/04/06/americans-views-of-lifes-meaning-and-purpose-are-changing/. To your point, the report says: “As Americans consider higher meanings, most believe they have found it. Close to 3 in 5 (59%) say they have found a higher purpose and meaning for their life, with 28% disagreeing.”
LikeLike
Thanks! I enjoy your blog.
Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
LikeLike
Thanks …. glad to find your blog. Our SS class (The Ancient Ones) is starting your Lifeway series [“Living On Purpose”] this week …. and honestly, even though I’ve taught from Ecclesiastes before, I am having a hard time knowing what to do with this first lesson. Upon reflection, I realize that I’m thinking “Duh, everybody knows that.” Well, of course, they don’t. But probably everyone in our class believes that. So … I’m like an old squirrel searching for a few hidden nuts. No criticism is intended …. my hat is off to anyone with the patience and discerning nature to author such a series. Hard to pitch to a very heterogeneous audience! With kindest regards !
One old Christian in a little rural Oklahoma Baptist church!
LikeLike
Too late now but we concentrated on the fact that if we focus “ under the sun “ there is little or no meaning. We must find our purpose above the sun from God.
LikeLike