Before I became a Christian I thought that meaning could be found in obtaining things and meeting goals. I believed that pursuing business success, accumulating wealth, finding my soul-mate, and doing good to others would bring me happiness and thus give me the meaning I was looking for in life. Sadly, despite achieving some of these goals there still remained a deep void inside of me that these accomplishments just did not fill.
One man who was able to achieve incredible worldly success was King Solomon. His fame reached far and wide. His wisdom was unrivaled. He had wealth that we can only dream about. And he married hundreds of women. He lived in a palace and anything he desired he could obtain. Yet we read his testimony in the book of Ecclesiastes. After obtaining all these things and experiencing all that life had to offer he exclaimed in (Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV): “Meaningless! Meaningless!…Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” If King Solomon, who had it all, said everything is meaningless then what about us? Just what can explain this void?
You see the one thing that many people miss out on is the fact that the key to meaning in life is not based on things but on a person – Jesus Christ. Now don’t get me wrong relationships with people are important but until we bond with Jesus we miss out on why we were created in the first place. We were created to have fellowship with God, to glorify His name, and to share this wonderful experience with others. Blaise Pascal, the great French mathematician and philosopher, once said that every man is born with a spiritual vacuum which only Jesus Christ can fill. So, our life here on earth will only find true satisfaction when we are in relationship with our Maker – Jesus.
But there is still more to life and meaning to just our time here on earth for we read in (Ecclesiastes 3:11): “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men.” We are all wired to somehow know that life doesn’t end when we physically die. And thankfully the Bible has much to say on the topic of what happens to us when we die. Again, knowing Jesus is the key since He promises us eternal life with Him. And my friends it’s all about Jesus. He is not a dead Savior, but a risen Lord. And He promises us an abundant life now filled with joy, peace, and meaning and eternal life with Him with no more sin, pain, sickness, and death; but only joy and eternal bliss in His presence.
Before I gave my heart to Jesus I was hopelessly lost with no hope to find out the answer to life’s big questions: “Where did I come from?” “Where do I go when I die?” “What is the purpose of life?” But thanks to inviting Jesus into my heart and reading the Bible, I have found answers to all of these questions and so much more. Life is now bursting with meaning and purpose and death is no longer the end but just a transition phase to my eternal state. So, for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!
AHMEN!