63 Sermon Illustrations on Purpose Of Life

"I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be 'happy.' I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter: To count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all."

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from Rosten's "Passions and Prejudices"

Mike Royko reported this true story in the Chicago Tribune. A man named Bill Mallory traveled to India to discover the purpose of life. But he didn't find the answer there.

So after returning, he noticed a sign at Chevron gas station that simply said, “As you travel, ask us.” So every time he pulled into a Chevron station, he would look to the sign and say, “I'm a traveler. I'd like to ask you a question: What is the purpose life?”

These were the real answers he got. I'm not making this up. The first guy said, “Sorry. I'm new here.”

The second guy said, “I don't remember anything in the manual about that.”

Another guy said, “I'm not much for church myself, sir.”

One guy gave him a leering look and a wink, whatever that meant.

However, most people just gave him a blank stare and cleaned his windshield. But he kept asking at all the Chevron stations.

One day Mallory got a phone call from Chevron Customer Relations. The Chevron caller said, “We understand you've been asking our dealers questions and getting unsatisfactory answers.” The man suggested that he write out his question and send it to Chevron Corporate with a self-addressed stamped envelope. So Bill Mallory wrote, “What is the purpose of life?” and sent it to the Chevron Gas Company.

A couple of weeks later, the envelope was returned. The only thing in it was an application for a credit card!

If you want to know the purpose of life, you're not going to find it in a gas station. You're not going to find it on a talk show. You're not going to find it in a self-help book. You're not going to find it at some seminar. If you want to know the purpose of life, you have to either talk to the Creator who made you, or look in the owner's manual. You were made by God and you were made for God. And until you understand that, life isn't going to make sense.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #13596]

The question to ask at the end of life’s race is not so much "What have I accomplished?" but "Whom have I loved, and how courageously?"

-- Geoff Gorsuch, "Journey to Adelphos,"

Discipleship Journal (Issue 14)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge said that "Hope without an object cannot live." If you have ever lost the focus of life, you understand hopelessness. Perhaps you have invested much into your job, marriage, or the struggles of life; and then you saw it all destroyed. The object of your hope is gone, and you feel dead and aimless.

Psychologist William Marston asked 3,000 people this question: "What do you have to live for?" 94 percent responded that they were merely enduring their lives, hoping someday that things would get better. I suppose that this is an expression of hope to a small degree, hoping that the future will be better than the past or present. Yet, this seems so inadequate. If our only encouragement is found in hoping for a better tomorrow, is this an adequate hope? It has been said that some people see only a hopeless end, but the Christian sees an endless hope. The Bible says that hope will always remain.

The morning of May 20, 2000, dawned damp and grey over a grassy field in Memphis, where a portable city had sprung up overnight. Thousands of muted tents stood in wet rows; fog made everything hazy. About 40,000 college students had arrived for the fourth Passion Conference, “One Day 2000,” its first outdoors. It was a day they wouldn’t forget, one they describe with words like “special” and “holy” and “weight of glory.”

Even people who weren’t there remember it, because that day author and pastor John Piper gave his famous “seashells” message.

Before he spoke, Piper asked God for “a prophetic word that would have a ripple effect to the ends of the earth and to eternity.” And then he began his message…

“You don’t have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. You don’t have to be smart, or good-looking, or from a good family,” he told them. “You just have to know a few, basic, glorious, majestic, obvious, unchanging, eternal things, and be gripped by them, and be willing to lay down your life for them.”

Five minutes in, he laid out the comparison nobody forgot:

Three weeks ago, we got news at our church that Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards were killed in Cameroon. Ruby Eliason — over 80, single all her life, a nurse. Poured her life out for one thing: to make Jesus Christ known among the sick and the poor in the hardest and most unreached places.

Laura Edwards, a medical doctor in the Twin Cities, and in her retirement, partnering up with Ruby. [She was] also pushing 80, and going from village to village in Cameroon. The brakes give way, over a cliff they go, and they’re dead instantly. And I asked my people, “Is this a tragedy?”

Two women, in their 80s almost, a whole life devoted to one idea — Jesus Christ magnified among the poor and the sick in the hardest places. And 20 years after most of their American counterparts had begun to throw their lives away on trivialities in Florida and New Mexico, [they] fly into eternity with a death in moment. “Is this a tragedy?” I asked.

The crowd knew the answer, calling out, “No!”

“It is not a tragedy,” Piper affirmed. “I’ll read you what a tragedy is.”

He pulled out a page from Reader’s Digest. He read it to them:

‘Bob and Penny ... took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball, and collect shells.’

“That’s a tragedy,” he told the crowd.

And there are people in this country that are spending billions of dollars to get you to buy it. Don’t buy it. With all my heart I plead with you — don’t buy that dream.... As the last chapter before you stand before the Creator of the universe to give an account with what you did: “Here it is, Lord — my shell collection. And I’ve got a good swing. And look at my boat.”

“Don’t waste your life,” he said, the words quietly tucked in before he barreled into another memorable anecdote, this one about a plaque in his home featuring C. T. Studd’s poem, “Only one life, twill soon be past / Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

The way to not waste your life, Piper said, is to give God glory for every gift, because every one — from a new car to physical safety to your own next heartbeat — is grace bought and paid for through the cross.

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Adapted from "How John Piper’s Seashells Swept Over a Generation," by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, March 20, 2017.

"When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying."

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Another version:

"When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this: When you die, will YOU be happy when everybody else is crying?"

-- Tony Campolo

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Still another version:

The Indians have a wonderful saying: "When you were born, you cried, and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries, and you rejoice."

Do the events of history make any sense? Or is life, as Shakespeare had MacBeth describe it, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing?"

MacBeth, Act V,v

G. N. Clark is reported to have said in his inaugural address as president of Cambridge University, "There is no secret and no plan in history to be discovered. I do not believe that any future consummation could make any sense of all the irrationalities of preceding ages. If it could not explain them, still less could it justify them."

When my wife and I pulled up late to the Bed and Breakfast we were going to be staying at, I tried to be real quiet. I was afraid we might wake some people up, you know. Not a problem. That B & B was buzzing like a beehive. Inside there were ten women huddled around the dining room table, each one with a sewing machine in front of her. Now, I learned that the other guests - all women - were there that weekend for a Mystery Quilt weekend. They were each making a quilt ... some for the first time. And even though I felt like I had sort of crashed a grownup slumber party, I did ask a few curious questions like, "What pattern are you following?" They didn't know. See, it turns out that one of the women there, Millie, does these quilting weekends with ladies ... and she has the pattern. It's a mystery quilt because each woman only has instructions what to do with the next piece or pieces; she has no idea what all those pieces will make. The next day, one lady said to me, "I can't wait 'til I can see what all this is going to look like when it's all put together." Good thing she didn't leave early with her pile of pieces, huh? She would have never known what it all made.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Pieces Without The Plan."

Actually, that's a description of some of our lives: pieces without the plan - because we're away from the only One who has the plan. I guess, in a way, life is a mystery quilt. All we can see is the blocks we're working on right now. But every once in a while, we find ourselves asking that question that's haunted us for years, "Why am I doing all this? What does all this make?"

It could be that right now the pieces aren't making much sense at all. And you're not sure of the answer to the one question you have to answer while you're on earth, "Why am I here?" You miss that and you've missed the point of your whole life. And so far, none of the things, none of the people you thought would make it make sense have done it. Life still seems like a pile of disconnected pieces.

I hope you'll be encouraged by our word for today from the Word of God, Jeremiah 29:11. "'I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" According to the Bible, you're a unique creation of God. Just look at your fingerprints if you don't believe He's made you one of a kind. And He has plans for you - great plans. Like the lady who organized that quilting weekend, God has the plan in His hand. But if you're away from the One who has the plan, there's no way to put the pieces together right.

So much of the confusion, many of the mistakes, a lot of the emptiness, the pain in your life, may have been because you've been trying to put it together without the only One who knows the plan. God is the only One who knows why you're here. The problem is that, again according to the Bible, every one of us has tried to do life our way instead of God's way. In God's words, "All of us have wandered away like sheep; each of us has turned to his own way." (Isaiah 53:6) Without divine intervention, you and I have hopelessly separated ourselves from the One who designed us.

But divine intervention came on a brutal cross on a hill outside Jerusalem, where God's one and only Son died as a substitute for you and me, carrying our death penalty for our running our own lives. Which means that where there was once an uncrossable divide, there is now a Bridge. And His name is Jesus.

And today, Jesus comes to you where you are, offering you the opportunity to tell Him you want Him to be your Savior from your sin, to connect you to the God you've been separated from, to the One who holds the plans and purpose for your life in His hands. When you find Him, you've found the meaning of your life.

If you've never reached out to begin this personal relationship with Jesus Christ, reach for Him today. If you want this relationship, I'd love to send you a booklet I wrote about it called "Yours For Life." We'll tell you how you can get it in just a moment.

Maybe life has been a pile of confusing, disconnected pieces long enough. You need to come home to Jesus, the One who created you ... who has wonderful plans for you. If you'll open up to Jesus, you'll finally start to get a look at the plan that puts all those pieces together.

"You must be single-minded. Drive for one thing on which you have decided."

-- George S. Patton

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The single common denominator of men and women who achieve great things is a sense of destiny."

-- Brian Tracy

"A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve."

-- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for."

-- Dag Hammarskjold

"The longer I live, the more I am certain that the great difference between the great and the insignificant, is energy - invincible determination - a purpose once fixed and then death or victory."

-- Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton

"Your purpose is the essence of who you are. It is the reason you are alive. To know your purpose, you first have to know who you are."

-- Idelette van Papendorp, editor, B&P 8/26/02

“When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this: When you die, will YOU be happy when everybody else is crying?”

-— Tony Campolo

"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."

-- Woodrow T. Wilson, QFTM 2/22/03

“To reach a port, we must sail — sail, not tie at anchor — sail, not drift.”

-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“Every living creature that comes into the world has something allotted him to perform; therefore, he should not stand an idle spectator of what others are doing.”

-- Sarah Kirby Trimmer

"To be what we are and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the end of life."

-- Robert Louis Stevenson

"If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Into his nest again,

I shall not live in vain."

-- Emily Dickinson

"The great purpose of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it."

-- Unknown

"The average man, who does not know what to do with his life, wants another one which will last forever."

-- Anatole France

"Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon."

-- Susan Ertz, in her book Anger in the Sky (1943)

"May you live all the days of your life."

-- Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Most people struggle with three basic issues in life. The first is the issue of existence: "Why am I alive?" The second is the issue of significance: "Does my life matter?" And the third is the issue of intention: "What is my purpose?" The answers to all three are found in understanding God's five reasons for creating you and putting you on earth.

God's purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind or even your happiness. It will last longer than your family, your career or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose. Even Bertrand Russell, the renowned atheist, admitted, "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."

The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That's because we typically begin at the wrong starting point -- ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like: What do I want to do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on yourself will never reveal your life's purpose. The Bible says, "Everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, ... everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him" (Colossians 1:16, The Message).

Contrary to many popular books, movies and seminars, you won't discover your life's meaning by looking within yourself. You've probably tried that already. You didn't create yourself so there is no way you can tell yourself what you were created for! If I handed you an invention you'd never seen before, you wouldn't know its purpose, and the invention itself wouldn't be able to tell you either. Only the Creator or the owner's manual could reveal its purpose.

I once got lost in the mountains. When I stopped to ask for directions to the campsite, I was told, "You can't get there from here. You must start from the other side of the mountain!" In the same way, you cannot arrive at your life's purpose by starting with a focus on yourself. You must begin with God, your Creator. You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and for God -- and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end.

So many people try to use God for their own self-actualization, but that is a reversal of nature and is doomed to failure. You were made for God, not vice versa, and life is about letting God use you for his purposes, not you using him for your own purposes.

I've read many books that suggested ways to discover the purpose of my life. All of them could be classified as "self-help" books because they approached the subject from a self-centered viewpoint. Self-help books, even Christian ones, usually offer the same predictable steps to finding your life's purpose: Consider your dreams. Clarify your values. Set some goals. Figure out what you are good at. Aim high. Go for it. Be disciplined. Believe you can achieve your goals. Involve others. Never give up.

Of course, these recommendations often lead to great success. You can usually succeed in reaching a goal if you put your mind to it. But being successful and fulfilling your life's purpose are not at all the same issue! You could reach all your personal goals, becoming a raving success by the world's standard, and still miss the purposes for which God created you.

How then do you discover the purpose you were created for? You only have two options. Your first option is speculation. This is what most people do. They conjecture, they guess, they theorize. When people say, "I've always thought life is ..." they mean, "This is the best guess I can come up with."

Fortunately, there is an alternative to speculation about the meaning and purpose of life. It's revelation. We can turn to what God has revealed about life in his Word. The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the creator of it. The same is true for discovering your life's purpose: ask God.

God has not left us in the dark to wonder and guess. He has clearly revealed his five purposes for our lives through the Bible [-given in a later article]. It's our Owner's manual, explaining why we are alive, how life works, what to avoid and what to expect in the future. It explains what no self-help or philosophy book could know.

The Bible says, "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone" (Ephesians 1:11, The Message).

Think about this: It's not about you. It's all about God.

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I recently saw a bumper sticker that read: "I got out of bed for this?" Like much in our pop-culture, the superficial says something profound. With a cynical jibe, this bumper-sticker expresses an honest question: Why did you get out of bed this morning? The bumper-sticker covertly implies agnostic frustration. What is your response - why did you get out of bed this morning? Why do you get out of bed any morning? You know, if we are attentive to our souls, we can hear this question being asked of us - at times in whispers and at times in roars - so we do well to answer.

Is it just habit that goads us to throw off the covers and face the day? Did duty do the prompting and coax us out of bed? Maybe love did - love of a child, love of a mate, or even love of ourselves. We all have ample reasons not to: fears, laziness, distaste for our work - so why do we get out bed in the morning?

The existentialist philosopher Jean Paul Sartre located this question at the center of all philosophy. He phrased the question thus: Why not commit suicide? You see, he knew that all the philosophizing in the world means nothing if you don’t answer the question of purpose. So too, all the fame and success in the world means nothing if you haven’t answered the question of your purpose. What are you here for? Why are you here? What does it matter what you really do?

You know, friends, all these questions are bound up in the question: What is it all for? What is the universe for? One cannot construct meaning for the parts without the meaning of the whole. You see, if we are a cosmic accident, then no amount of romanticizing about ourselves can dress up our meaninglessness. The whole must be for something.

I believe it is. We are the handiwork of a loving God who made us with a longing for Him and for His purpose. That is the answer to our question. Jesus said this when He said that what God wants most from us is for us to love Him with all our hearts, our souls, our minds, and our strength.

You know, this is not a dry thing. It is not a contrived thing. It is the purpose of our creator. C. S. Lewis said it well, "God designed the human machine to run on Himself." [1]

May God be that fuel that impels you from your bed every morning. That way, every morning can be a good morning, a God morning. May you awaken to that truth and thrill.

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1. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

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Copyright © 2002 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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After nine-and-one-half months at sea, the men and women of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln were ready to head home. Probably more than ready. And as their long and heroic voyage neared its first port in San Diego, their Commander in Chief landed on the deck of the Lincoln to visit with them, to thank them personally, and to speak to American people from the deck. It was an impressive scene. It was really a moving scene for many. In his speech, surrounded by a multitude of uniformed military personnel, the President announced the end of major combat operations and what he called “the liberation of Iraq.” He told the American military, represented by the proud men and women on the deck of the Abraham Lincoln, that “your courage ... has made this day possible.” Behind the President loomed the towering bridge of the carrier, with this banner strung across it. On that banner, there was a powerful two-word declaration: “Mission Accomplished.”

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Mission Accomplished.”

Some day you'll be heading home. Your time on earth will be over at a time set by your Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ. Will He be flying that banner for you when you reach home? Will He say, “Mission accomplished?” In many ways, that is the ultimate measure of whether your life was a success or not.

I know you have a mission. God makes that clear in Ephesians 2:10 when He says, “We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” You have been wired by God, positioned by God, uniquely equipped by God to make a unique difference during your tour of duty here on earth. He never meant for you to be content to just make money, or make grades, or make friends, or make an impression. You're not here to just be a “space taker-upper” - you're here to make a difference!

But sadly, it's all too easy to get diverted from the eternal things you're here for into earth-stuff that ultimately doesn't matter much. But it can so easily take over your life and your passion that you waste most of your life serving that earth-stuff rather than carrying out missions from your Commander. Maybe without realizing it, you've gotten detoured into endeavors and relationships that really won't matter in eternity. That's why your life may be very full, but not very fulfilling. It could be that you've tasted living for what really matters, but somehow you got discouraged, or distracted, disillusioned.

Well, there's still time to do what you do for Jesus -- to use your influence to point people to Jesus, not to help you get ahead. To see each relationship as a God-given assignment to represent Jesus to that person, and to see what you do every day; not just as a way to make money or have fun, but as a way to bring glory to your Lord and to help some of the people there be in heaven with you. You're going to want your finish line testimony to be that of the Apostle Paul as recorded in 2 Timothy 4:7, our word for today from the Word of God - “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness...”

Tell Jesus, “I surrender my gifts to You, Lord ... my passions ... my influence ... my daily activities in all the days of the rest of my life. Please use them for what You put me here to do. I want to be where I was born to be, doing what I born to do. I want to make the greatest possible difference with the rest of my life!” Then, when your tour of duty is over and you finally reach your home in heaven, there will be that banner - “Mission Accomplished.”

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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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Purpose-Driven Life series, #1. Psalm 39:3-8

WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?

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I. Facing the music.

A. Life's three greatest questions.

II. Why am I here?

A. An age-old question.

B. A modern angle.

C. Without God, what are the alternatives?

1) Mystical approach.

2) Philosophical approach.

3) Self-help approach.

4) The "God approach" is the only valid answer.

III. Does my life matter?

A. Isaiah's feeling of insignificance. Isa 49:4

B. Living at three levels.

1) Survival level.

2) Success level.

3) Significance level.

C. You matter to God.

IV. What on earth am I here for?

A. Purpose is important.

B. What forty days can do for you.

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Based on sermon by Rev. Rick Warren, www.pastors.com

Professor Hugh Moorhead, who is Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at the Northeastern University, once wrote to 250 well-known philosophers, scientists, and intellectuals. He asked them, “What is the purpose of Life?” Then he published all of their responses in a book.

The book is quite discouraging and depressing. Some of these people offered their best guesses. Some admitted they made up a purpose in life. Some admitted they didn't have any idea as to what the purpose of life was and if Dr. Moorhead knew, would be please let them know.

Carl Jung, the famous psychiatrist, said, “I don't know the meaning, the purpose of life, but it looks as if something were meant by it.” Isaac Asimov wrote, “As far as I can see, there is no purpose.” Joseph Taylor wrote a book called “I Have No Answers To The Meaning of Life And I No Longer Want to Search For Any” -- you don't have to be a genius to guess his answer.

I have watched in increasing fascination and amusement the growing proliferation of a series of books called the Dummies Guides. Naturally, they began as simplified instruction manuals for computers. I can understand that. I not infrequently feel like a dummy when I match my wits with my impressively fast and absolutely literal friend the computer. However the books began to sell like hotcakes. People evidently loved them. Now you can find everything from Auto Repair and Family Health to Time Management and Sex for Dummies.

You will not, however, find a book entitled The Dummies Guide to Sacramental Living. That is because the Dummies Guides deal with technique. There is a technique to learning computer software.

Technique can lead to the possibility of cloning animals. Technique provides medical miracles. But there is no technique which promises a full and fulfilling life. There is no technique which sustains love. There is no technique which finds God. All of these precious goals are approached in a way which is the opposite of technique.

For weeks I had watched a conveyor belt of silver trays pass before my eyes. In front of me, just beyond the conveyor, still larger silver trays overflowed with a most unpleasant sight. To my right lay a pile of cold, skinned chicken necks, in the center a mound of chicken livers, and to my left, skinned chicken gizzards. As the small trays sped by, great dexterity was required to place one of each of the innards into every little tray. The trays then wound their merry way past my colleague who placed two further lumps of unpleasantness onto them until they finally reached a machine that tidily bagged the little goodies in plastic, ready to be shoved into the chickens. Yes, I was working on a giblets-packing machine!

It is hard to describe the intensity of boredom I experienced working at that chicken factory. I remember getting the job as a stopgap earner after finishing high school, before leaving for college. It was a sheer endurance test: seven hours a day on your feet in the same position, functioning like a robot. To keep myself mentally occupied, I would recite songs and passages of books to myself. Most of all, however, I would daydream about the day I was so looking forward to, the day that would revolutionize my young life — buying my first car! I knew fulfillment was just around the corner. I was soon to be the proud owner of $700 worth of Talbot Samba.

The day had come when I could realize my dream. I polished that car until the paint faded. How I enjoyed speeding away from the scooters and bicycles! But gradually, after a couple of months, I began to experience what I thought I could never feel — a pang of disappointment and a hint of boredom. I realized something else as well: Nearly everybody else's car was bigger, better, and faster than mine. In fact, I soon came to see my car as embarrassingly dull; the truth was, it couldn't pull me out of bed. In no time at all the novelty had worn off, and I wanted to change my car for something better. The story of my motoring madness didn't end with my next car, nor with the one after that. Like new clothes that become familiar in the wearing, every car I've ever owned has lost its novelty before the oil needed a change.

Why do we long for anything? In the biological sense, our longings point us to an essential source of fulfillment. When thirsty, longing for a drink, we can turn on the tap for a glass of water or pop into the store for a can of Coke. After satisfying ourselves with liquid refreshment our thirst is quenched. The same can be said with regard to food, shelter, warmth, and so on. All of these natural longings can be met in the material world for those with the resources and human relationships to meet them.

However, the deeper longing seems to evade satisfaction in any material way; the lingering desire for a vague something remains. There are times, perhaps in a moment of passion and romance, or in a place of great natural beauty, that we imagine the longing has been met, but the elation does not last. As C. S. Lewis puts it, “The supposed satisfaction to our deepest longing just fades away... something has evaded us.”(1)

What then can be the root cause of this dissatisfaction? Blaise Pascal, with penetrating clarity of insight, writes, “Human beings do not know their place and purpose. They have fallen from their true place, and lost their true purpose. They search everywhere for their place and purpose, with great anxiety. But they cannot find them because they are surrounded by darkness.” (2)

Our place and our purpose in this world are at the very root of the great yearnings and longings we experience. We are told there must be some highly technical psychological or genetic explanation for all this, but the truth seems much simpler. Instinctively we expect our longings to be met outside ourselves — our desires and emotions push us outward. New Age gurus, and even popular songwriters, tell us to withdraw into ourselves and peer into our own souls for happiness — but this fails to solve the longing.

The picture becomes clearer when we read the words of Solomon in the Bible: “[God] has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, NLT).

According to Solomon, our longing becomes a signpost to the only source of satisfaction; our spiritual longing — this sense of eternity — has been planted there by God himself and is part of our human makeup. Our yearning is also an echo of Eden, an inescapable reminder of a time in human history when the longing was satisfied, when human experience was bliss, and the soul found joy and contentment in relationship with its Creator. It is, to put it another way, a latent memory of an experience that we long to renew, that of knowing God himself.

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1. C. S. Lewis, MERE CHRISTIANITY (Macmillan, 1952), p. 119.

2. Blaise Pascal, PASCAL IN A NUTSHELL (Hodder and Stoughton, 1997), p. 40.

From SEARCHING FOR TRUTH by Joe Boot, © 2002. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com. Download for personal use only.

Joe Boot is executive director of ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Canada.

________

Copyright © 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

*

By at least a two-to-one margin, Americans think that the country is headed in the wrong direction [Nov. 2005]. To put these numbers into perspective, in the aftermath of September 11, Americans, by a six-to-one margin, thought that we were headed in the right direction.

What's behind this extreme shift? Nobody likes the war much -- I understand that. But in many respects, it has gone very well, and we have had no major terrorist attack in America since September 11. It's fair to say that something's going right in the war on terrorism.

The same can be said about the economy: Unemployment is at 5 percent, and inflation is under 3 percent. During the Nixon years, when I was in the White House, we would have stood on our heads for hours on end for those kinds of numbers. While gas prices have been very high, they have begun to come back down. In many respects, the economic news is better than it was four years ago.

The gloom and doom can't be the product of political scandal and corruption, either. Without meaning to sound cynical, none of these things is particularly new to Washington.

So why are people so unhappy and dissatisfied? The answer lies in something that not even peace and prosperity can provide: a sense of meaning and purpose in life. If you look at the research, you will see that spiritual hunger and spiritual searching are at an all-time high.

The problem is that the dominant postmodern and naturalistic worldviews can't provide answers to what people need most. A world in which every autonomous self is free to do what he or she wants may be fun for a season, but it can't satisfy over the long or even medium haul.

For starters, other people's ideas of “fun” may interfere with yours. In a world where nearly everything is permitted, strife and conflict are inevitable. The postmodern worldview leaves us with no satisfying way to resolve conflicts.

On the contrary, it drives us further apart by denying that a shared sense of meaning and purpose are possible. But what it can't deny is that people are “wired to connect” with one another. Studies like those I have used in my new book, THE GOOD LIFE, show that we are at our very best, both personally and collectively, when we share more than office space and parking lots.

Which brings me back to the post-September 11 polling results. For a time after the attacks, we overcame our isolation, and we shared a common purpose, one that prompted many people to connect with other people. We have since returned to business as usual, and the result is a profound discontent in the midst of plenty.

While this discontent is bad news for the country, it ought to be very good news for the Church. If we can escape our self-absorbed isolation, we have something we can offer people: It is a better way to live -- one that has meaning and purpose.

That's why I wrote the book THE GOOD LIFE, in fact. The unease reflected in the polls does not come from politics; it comes from being told that there is no meaning or purpose in life. People know better, and they are searching for it, and they are not finding answers in our culture. That's what's making them uneasy, but it's up to the Church -- you and I -- to point them in the right direction, to a worldview that is true and livable.

________

Copyright (c) 2005 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

*

I believe that most people want their lives to count. We want to make a real difference in the world. We want our lives to be significant -- even if that means simply touching the lives of a few people. And this is true especially in the church. We’ve experienced so much, we’ve been blessed with so much -- and we want to express our gratitude, we want to help other people experience what we have in a relationship with God. We want our lives to count.

But that’s as far as it goes. That’s as far as we get in our thinking about this. We don’t have a PLAN to make it happen -- and so we don’t make very much progress.

Tom Sine has said recently that the biggest challenge we face in the church today is what he calls a “crisis of vision.” That is, vision of what our lives COULD be. A vision of how we can make a difference with our lives and be a part of something significant. Many of us go through our whole Christian lives without ever really being intentional, or thoughtful, about what our lives could be -- by the grace of God.

Lily Tomlin once said, “I always wanted to be somebody. I just should have been more specific.” And the problem with not being specific about the kind of person we should be is that we’ll tend to DRIFT. We’ll allow other people to dictate that vision for us, and we’ll drift into adopting the goals and mindset of the people around us -- rather than God’s.

Because let’s face it -- there’s no shortage of people who have visions for the kind of person you and I should be. If we don’t think hard about and decide what our values and goals should be -- there are plenty of other people who would love to do that for us.

Unless we take time every so often to raise questions about our sense of purpose -- we’ll just drift with the tide. And drifting with the tide is dangerous business. Every once in a while a ship that just drifts just might drift into a pretty good place. By chance it might drift into a harbor. But most often the ones that drift tend to run aground somewhere, or crash into the rocks on the coastline.

At Bridgewood, our vision is based on what could happen in this community if all of us in this church really become the intentional about our calling as followers of Christ. What if we would discover that our real mission in life is wrapped up in our relationship with God, and what if we'd commit ourselves to using our gifts and talents to serve Him and reach out to the people around us with the message of His love?

This past month I've been focusing our message series on the plan we have at Bridgewood for helping people do just that: helping people take the steps of growth in the various areas of the spiritual life so that we can become the kind of people God wants us to be. Our desire is to help people make commitments in these areas:

STAYING CONNECTED TO CHRIST -- by worshiping regularly and spending time in prayer and Bible study daily

GROWING IN CHRIST -- by participating in a Learning Community, Grow Group, or Bible study

SERVING CHRIST -- by using gifts to serve God in ministry

SHARING CHRIST -- by praying for and reaching out to the people God has placed in my life who need Him

If you missed one or more of these messages, and would like to hear more about this, contact the church office. We can send you copies of the text of these messages, for your own thinking and study. In fact, if you give us your email address, we'll send you a copy of the message and weekly announcements each week. Our goal is to help you grow, and in the process make a significant and positive difference in the world.

[see #30649 for a similar essay]

What kind of life do you want to lead? A life that creates a lasting impression, chiseled through imperishable deeds?

In order to live this kind of life -- a life written upon everlasting rock instead of temporal wind or waves -- we must have a goal that makes our lives significant. A purpose worth living and dying for, a passion that transcends our limited world, a cause bigger than we are -- such is the making of a life of purpose.

You can’t serve the generation that preceded you, because you weren’t there. You’ll never be able to serve the generation after you, because you won’t be there. You have to serve the generation in which you live, and you must do it by the will of God. The greatest way we can serve the generation in which we live is to live a life of purpose.

If we aren’t careful, we just let the years come and go, and we’re too tired, too busy or too distracted to find our purpose. We need to change from a passive, lethargic existence to a powerful and purposeful life. That was the secret of God’s heroes of earlier generations.

When the shepherd boy, David, decided to take on Goliath, he was disparaged by his brothers who resented his brash self-confidence. His response? “Is there not a cause?” (1 Samuel 17:29) Jesus once explained, “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37).

Have you determined what your life’s “cause” may be? Let me give you some ideas that will help.

Why did God place you on earth at this particular moment? Why did He give you the background, personality, gifts and life experiences that are yours alone? How can you find God’s purpose for life?

Give Him all there is of yourself. Say, “Here I am, Lord. Use me.” The famous Bible teacher F. B. Meyer, preaching in 1904 in Keswick, England, testified:

I remember so well when He [Jesus] came to my heart and

challenged me as to the keys of my life. Before I gave them to

Him, I put one small key in my pocket. He gave them back and

said He could not be King at all if He could not be King of

everything. I said, ‘I cannot give it; but I am willing for Thee

to take it,’ and He took it. Then they were all His.

It’s sometimes difficult to turn every area of life over to Christ, but He can only use what is wholly yielded to Him.

Ask Him to show you His purpose and plan for your life. Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Seek Him in His Word. In Bible study, we often hear that still, small voice of God saying, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). I particularly recommend Psalm 139:16-17, where David testified, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!” God has a plan and purpose for every day of your life. It’s already mapped out.

Serve Him. Don’t wait for a lightning bolt of revelation. Find a need right now and fill it. Do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, and you’re doing it as unto Him. Jesus promised that if we are faithful in little, He will know we can be trusted with more later on.

Trust Him. Being faithful means we’re full of faith; we believe God wants to use us; He has placed us here; He will make us fruitful. Proverbs 3:5-6 says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Let’s give ourselves fully to His work, seeking His specific purpose for each of our lives, knowing that our labor in the Lord is carved upon the rock of eternity.

________

David Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point for God

*

“Make a New Year’s resolution to give up an old habit,” proclaims a billboard put up by a fledgling newspaper trying to woo away readers from a more established paper. This is the time of the year when the very word “resolution” catches our attention, and the advertisement was cashing in on the sentiment.

Resolutions clearly vary in depth of meaning. You can have a new resolution every new year if you would like. Most resolutions are short-term and can therefore be more easily evaluated than overarching values or life purposes. But even if one is successful every year in keeping a resolution, does that mean that one can, towards the twilight years of one’s life, say one has lived successfully? I’m not sure we would go as far as to say this.

In the early chapters of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus shows far more than resolution to live a particular life. Overwhelmed with the pressures of popularity to the extent that “the whole city gathered at the door,” Jesus did two things (Mark 1:33). In response to the people before him, he first met all of their needs. He healed their diseases and cast out their demons. But then, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place to pray.

Immediately upon finding him, his disciples gave him what seems like an exaggerated report: “Everyone is looking for you!” they exclaimed (1:37). Gently and confidently, Jesus set the course, telling them his plans on fulfilling his mission. “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for” (1:38). Popularity did not distract him. The great degree of need did not prevent him from focusing on what he needed to do. Jesus knew his mission in life, and every action worked toward this end.

Everyone in this world has some form of a mission statement, though often it is not formally stated. Many have implicit mission statements to make money or to become powerful or to be successful or to optimize pleasure. Though many of our goals or resolutions are not necessarily wrong in and of themselves, they become empty when elevated beyond what the accomplishment itself can provide. Success in the stock market does not make for a successful life. There is a vast difference between a resolution and a mission statement. We were meant for far more than any accomplishment of our own can provide.

If you look in the mirror of God’s Word, you will find that God not only has a plan for life itself, but a plan for YOUR life. John reports, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12). Jesus gives us the only mission statement that extends beyond this life and into the next.

A clearly expressed mission statement may go against the grain of our natural inclinations and thinking. But having a clear purpose in mind helps to expose our unvoiced, inadequate mission statements and verbalize the larger existential purpose of life and the direction God has set before us. We may sometimes struggle to remain on track, but we walk not alone. As someone has said, “there is a joy in the journey.” And I might add, for the follower of Christ, there is also a sense of fulfillment at the journey’s end.

Why not take the time this year to articulate a mission statement for your life? This could well be the resolution that leads to the One who revolutionizes all of life.

________

Copyright © 2006 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

With his shaggy hair, floppy socks and unparalleled flair for showmanship, “Pistol Pete” Maravich set basketball records that may never be broken and did things on the court that may never be duplicated.

Ironically, though, he spent the last few years of his life pointing people not to sports, but to Christ. The Pistol was one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but in his final days, he also was probably one of the world’s greatest soul-winners.

Maravich died of a heart attack in 1988 at the age of 40, but interest in his life has made a resurgence lately with two new biographies and a DVD. One book, “Maravich,” was written by Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill in collaboration with Maravich’s widow, Jackie, while the other one, “Pistol,” was written by Mark Kriegel. The 1990 movie “The Pistol” is now out on DVD with two versions (a “rebound” and an “inspiration” edition), with the inspirational version including a powerful, 55-minute video of Maravich giving his Christian testimony months before he died.

“Pete was a bold guy,” said Darrell Campbell, who was close to Maravich in his final years, wrote the screenplay for the movie and also helped him write his 1987 autobiography, “Heir to a Dream.”

“When I met him, he just cracked open his heart and his life to me about what the Lord meant to him. I thought, ‘This is the type of guy that kids need to emulate. This is a guy who wears his Christianity right on the outside where people can see it.’”

Most of the world, though, knows Maravich only as a great scorer who had a knack for entertaining the crowd with a between-the-legs pass, a between-the-opponent’s-legs pass or a 40-foot shot.

In three seasons at Louisiana State University (1968-70) he averaged an NCAA-record 44.2 points per game -- before the 3-point shot. To put that in perspective, the leading NCAA scorer this year averaged 28. Maravich scored at least 50 points 28 times and at least 40 points 56 times -- all college records. His 3,667 points for his collegiate career still stands, despite the fact players nowadays play all four seasons and he played only three. (Rules then prevented freshmen from playing.)

Maravich -- who got his nickname because as a youngster he began his shooting motion from the hip -- went on to play in the National Basketball Association, where he averaged 24.2 points for the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Jazz. He joined the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987 and was named as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996.

Many of today’s top players -- such as Los Angeles Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant -- credit Maravich for their moves and for adding excitement to the game. Still, with all his success and all his money, Maravich reached a breaking point after he retired in 1980. He wasn’t happy. In fact, he was miserable. He battled alcoholism, he said, and even considered suicide. Pistol Pete -- who had found meaning in basketball since he was a child -- was again searching for life’s purpose. That all changed in 1982, when during the middle of the night he knelt beside his bed and, weeping, committed his life to Christ.

No one knew it then, but Maravich had only five short years to live.

“Pete had that last bit of his life to let the world know what he thought and felt and had experienced,” said Campbell, who met Maravich after he became a Christian. “He was a bit obsessive in everything he did. Just like he went after basketball, he went after his Christianity and his faith and his growth. That really inspired me.”

Maravich -- baptized at Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia -- launched his own basketball camps, which were wildly popular and where, according to the book “Maravich,” he taught kids three disciplines: faith, basketball and nutrition. He would tell campers his testimony and have other people come in and give theirs. He traveled the country, telling the story about his transformation wherever he could -- at churches, at prisons, at a Billy Graham Crusade, even at his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. According to “Maravich,” the front of his new home in Louisiana had a carving that read, “COMMIT THY WORKS UNTO THE LORD.”

Months before he died, he gave his testimony before a small crowd, saying, “Pete Maravich had all the material things you could want. But ... none of it ever satisfied me -- not the money, not the wealth, not the success.... Jesus Christ changed my life.... I don’t have much time left, and the time that I have I’m giving to the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m giving it to Him, because that’s what I’m called to do.”

In 1987, Maravich, Campbell and others with the film “The Pistol” were going around the nation, looking for a young actor to play Maravich as an eighth-grader. One stop placed them in Baton Rouge.

“He turned our audition for The Pistol into an evangelistic moment,” Campbell said. “All the parents were sitting in the gymnasium -- which is now the Pete Maravich Assembly Center -- and there were maybe 600 people in there. And Pete said [to the crowd], ‘I just want to talk to everyone about what is next in the process.’ Then he launched into his testimony. It was amazing. I thought, ‘Who else would take a Hollywood audition moment and do that?’”

Maravich also was a prayer warrior. Once, Campbell said, Maravich was on an airplane that had so much turbulence passengers thought it was going to crash.

“He had flown a lot in the NBA and so on, and he said this was the worst he had experienced,” Campbell said. “People were crying. It was a white knuckle moment. He was not afraid at all for his mortality at that moment. He said, ‘I began to pray for all the lost on the airplane around me.’ He prayed, ‘Lord, convict their hearts that they need to know You.’ [He wanted to] pray for the salvation of those who might die in the plain crash with him at that moment. That’s the kind of practical Christian he was.”

Maravich died in January 1988 in California during a pickup basketball game at a church gym. An autopsy showed he had had a malformed heart from birth: Instead of having two coronary arteries, Maravich’s heart had only one. Doctors said it was nothing short of a miracle he had lived as long as he had -- especially as active as he was.

Basketball fans can see highlights of Maravich Saturday when CBS broadcasts “College Basketball’s 10 Greatest Shooters” at 2 p.m. Eastern, prior to the Final Four semifinal games. Campbell said Maravich would be intrigued with the interest in his basketball achievements but would want the spotlight elsewhere.

“He would say, ‘I’m not interested in the fame stuff.’ He would say, ‘Let’s lift up the name of Christ.’”

Board games are an interesting barometer of American culture. What does the changes in the game LIFE say about us?

In 1860, the year Abraham Lincoln was elected President, a lanky, long-nosed, twenty-three-year-old Yankee named Milton Bradley invented his first board game, on a red-and-ivory checkerboard of sixty-four squares. He called it the Checkered Game of Life. Play starts at Infancy, and ends, usually but not always, at Happy Old Age, though landing on Suicide, with a noose around your neck, is more common than you might think, and means, inconveniently, that you’re dead.

“The game represents, as indicated by the name, the checkered journey of life,” Bradley explained, in his Rules of the Game. There are good patches, and bad, in roughly equal number. On the one hand: Honesty, Bravery, Success. On the other: Poverty, Idleness, Disgrace. Even when you’re heading for Happiness you can end up at Ruin: passed out, drunk and drooling, on the floor of a seedy-looking tavern where Death darkens the door disguised as a debt collector.

The Checkered Game of Life made Milton Bradley a brand name. In 1960, to celebrate its centennial, the company he founded released a commemorative Game of Life. It bears almost no resemblance to its nineteenth century namesake. Bradley’s game about vice, virtue, and the pursuit of happiness was reinvented as a lesson in Cold War consumerist conformity. Teensy plastic station wagons are filled with Mommies and Daddies and ride the highway of life, earning money, buying furniture, and having pink and blue babies. Whoever earns the most money wins. Thirty-five million copies were sold.

In 1992 the company revised the game again and marketed it to babyboomers. Station wagons became minivans and you can have a Midlife Crisis. In 2007 Hasbro (which bought out Milton Bradley) comes out with “Game of Life: Twists & Turns.”

The evolution of the game reflects the changes in our culture. Milton Bradley came from a family ruled, for generations, by nothing so much as an angry God. A series of New England ancestors had been captured or killed by Indians. Still, the story of Bradley’s ancestors was a story not of failure but of fate: God had chosen to visit them with affliction, and there was nothing they could do but praise Him. In his application to the U.S. Patent Office, Bradley insisted that his game was “intended to forcibly impress upon the minds of youth the great moral principles of virtue and vice.” But the Checkered Game of Life isn’t a race to heaven; it’s a series of calculations about the best route to collect the most points, fastest. Accumulate, or fail.

The 1960 version of the game is very different. You never die, you just quit working. There are rewards and penalties, but none are morally freighted; the game lacks any sense of life as a battle between vice and virtue. The object of the two games is different, too: at Life’s Day of Reckoning, you count your cash, not your good deeds. And Life’s most important squares are its red-letter “PAY DAY!”s.

The 1960 version of Life got plenty of criticism. It is so relentlessly amoral and cash-conscious that a 1990s team that tried to redesign it, pretty much gave up. They did add Life Tiles which allow players to do good deeds, like collecting $200,000 for Saving an Endangered Species.

The 2007 version will be very different. The “Game of Life: Twists & Turns” is not a checkerboard of choices or a fixed and fated path. There is, instead, a multitude of paths. There is no place on the board called “Happy Old Age” or “Millionaire Acres” or even “Finish.” This is actually the game’s selling point: it has no goal. Life is . . . aimless. (The game’s box shouts, “A THOUSAND WAYS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE! YOU CHOOSE.”) You get as many points for scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef as you do for donating a kidney. Money is still a big feature, although it isn’t money anymore – players use Life-Visa-brand “credit cards” to keep track of Life Points. Lots of debt is not a big problem. In old versions of the game, there’s a square for that kind of thing. It’s called the Road to Folly.

THE MEANING OF LIFE IS NOT FOUND IN:

1. PHILOSOPHY: What I think – Ecclesiastes 1:12-18.

For his first experiment Solomon looks to education. He calls in the best teachers, the finest tutors and gifted scholars. This is like a pastor who misses the joy of shepherding people in order to retire with a Master’s Degree. It’s about priorities! Wholesome activity is not wrong but if our work leads to neglecting relationships, it’s wrong. Other brilliant man may fail to feed the flock of God while totally pouring life into an academy. Sometimes it’s just better to release one of the roles and just ask for help.

2. PLEASURE: What I enjoy – Ecclesiastes 2:1-3.

Are Christian leaders vulnerable to hedonism? Solomon evaluates the things that most people think of as worthwhile and tests them with abandon. One church listened to the continual mountain experiences of when their pastor was in another state. Apparently, his heart was elsewhere as he lasted about a year. Others choose their geographic locations for the joy of the wilds or the excitement of the hunt. Their congregations sense a secondary place in his heart. As Solomon, we must never lose our good sense or testimonies for pleasure. It’s like Solomon got burned out on books to say, “Let’s party!”

3. PROJECTS: What I do – Ecclesiastes 2:4-6.

The verbs assure us that he is busy and the nouns speak of gain. To some the necessity for secular work draws their ministry into the mundane and routine. We sympathize as it gets very hard! Other’s projects are more enjoyable but less important as they just get intense about old tractors or nice cars. If they ever had equal passion for the people and the ministry of the church, the fire and blessing would return. Solomon’s great building projects as the temple, his palace and cities could never satisfy the ache in his soul for the real meaning of life.

4. POSSESSIONS: What I have – Ecclesiastes 2:7-11.

The stuff of living became like a forest to Solomon as he hiked deep into the woods until it was like he was lost. A pastor failing in health would hang to the pulpit like his martyr’s badge. For some a financial package spells security until they are deep into their retirement years. Yet what happens when the passion and dynamic for God’s work into the hearts of people is gone? The church begins to die as members drift away, some leaving the church forever? How can anyone watch this happen without overwhelming grief? Solomon was great in power while controlling lots of people. But the cluttered life becomes a consumed life for the stuff of this world. Self-gratification can go on for years, undetected as such a person is often the last one to know. Reading the pronouns, he was all about “me, myself, I, and mine” to smother out the will of God for the work of God. That is like to miss the value of a kingdom, a life and a crown to find it empty in the end. Such vanity if the people suffer as the church dies! We are not here to accumulate the stuff of life for ourselves.

5. POSTERITY: What we pass on – Ecclesiastes 2:12-23.

Having children is not the problem solver either. They bring happiness to a happy home; misery to a miserable home. Eyes off the Scriptures, pastor’s missing godly discipline can destroy their testimony in the church. Others favor or over-protect certain kids to the lasting injury of some other precious lives. We work hard for the goals of our lives but we will leave it all behind; maybe to one child or maybe to many. Solomon’s lament was realistic as he left his own wasted inheritance to the fool of a son named Rehoboah. And as the prodigal king discovered, one event awaits both the wise and the fool, they both die! But it’s better not to die the fool.

The Hebrews would often posed their points as one speaker against another. Draw a line between Heaven and earth and you get this “under the sun” view over 30 times in the Book. The secular humanist sees this life as if there is no God. Then Solomon turns to the godly, spiritual view of Heaven; but he does not start with that. In the end, there is life beyond this one with all of the meaning that you and I have been seeking for.

Pastors and Christian friends, never fall for the deceitful lure of the stuff of this life! God is watching to see if you will honestly finish as Paul, who said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). So now for all of us, where will you turn for your own significance in life? - To God or to the meaningless secular ambitions of vanity?

==========================

A similar outline from Tom L. Bright, http://www.oabs.org

THE ELUSIVE MEANING OF LIFE

Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11

________________________________________

INTRODUCTION

1. People are searching for the meaning of life.

2. Solomon engaged himself in an experiment to uncover the meaning of life.

I. THE MEANING OF LIFE IS NOT FOUND IN HUMAN PHILOSOPHY [WHAT I THINK (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18)].

A. Solomon’s experiment would make use of wisdom (both his wisdom and the wisdom of the world).

1. Solomon was given a great offer (1 Kings 3:5).

2. He made a noble decision (1 Kings 3:8, 9).

3. God blessed Solomon with unparalleled wisdom (1 Kings 3:10-12), and he was also given riches and honor (1 Kings 3:13).

4. Solomon had “great experience of wisdom and knowledge” (Ecclesiastes 1:16).

B. “For in much wisdom is much grief” (Ecclesiastes 1:18). Who better than Solomon to right those words!? This expression has puzzled many readers.

1. “We become more sensible of our ignorance and impotence, and therefore sorrowful, in proportion as we discover more of the constitution of nature and the scheme of Providence in the government of the world; every discovery serving to convince us that more remains concealed of which we had no suspicion before” (Barnes).

2. “The more we know of ourselves the less satisfied shall we be with our own hearts; and the more we know of mankind the less willing shall we be to trust them, and the less shall we admire them” (Clarke).

3. Trying to make sense of the world without God leads to “vexation of spirit.” Solomon contrasts human wisdom with heavenly wisdom (Proverbs 1:7 ; 2:1-9 ; 4:5-7 ; 9:10).

II. THE MEANING OF LIFE IS NOT FOUND IN PLEASURE [WHAT I WANT (Ecclesiastes 2:1-3)].

A. Whatever Solomon wanted, Solomon got (Ecclesiastes 2:10).

B. Christians do have an enjoyable and abundant life (John 10:10).

C. Solomon’s experiments left him with feelings of vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:1).

III. THE MEANING OF LIFE IS NOT FOUND IN PROJECTS [WHAT I DO

(Ecclesiastes 2:4-6)].

A. Solomon felt that meaning of life could be found by being a workaholic.

B. These efforts, however, did not bring true satisfaction.

C. "The workaholism issue is a real one for me. I am never more than a couple steps --mentally --from the computer. What keeps me tethered is the fear that if I stop, my whole world will come crashing in on me. It's hard to get out of that mindset for even a few minutes" (Ron, Confession of a Workaholic, www.businessweek.com ).

IV. THE MEANING OF LIFE IS NOT FOUND IN POSSESSIONS [WHAT I HAVE

(ECCLESIASTES 2:7-11)].

A. Solomon was extremely rich (1 Kings 9:10-28).

B. “A man’s life consisteth not of the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15).

1. Though this was taught by Jesus, materialism is at all time highs.

2. Luke 12:16-20

V. THE MEANING OF LIFE IS NOT IN PEOPLE [WHO I KNOW].

A. Solomon was a great king.

B. He was visited by the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13).

C. In the Judgment, we will all stand as individuals (2 Corinthians 5:10).

CONCLUSION

1. The meaning of life cannot be understood without God.

2. Solomon eventually reached this exact conclusion (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

_________________________________________________________

PAST MONTH DRUG USE BY HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS, BY DRUG TYPE:

1990 to 2001

PERCENTAGE REPORTING USE

YEAR MARIJUANA COCAINE ANY DRUG

1990 14.0 1.9 17.2

1991 13.8 1.4 16.4

1992 11.9 1.3 14.4

1993 15.5 1.3 18.3

1994 19.0 1.5 21.9

1995 21.2 1.8 23.8

1996 21.9 2.0 24.6

1997 23.7 2.3 26.2

1998 22.8 2.4 25.6

1999 23.1 2.6 25.9

2000 21.6 2.1 24.9

2001 22.4 2.1 25.7

SOURCE: MONITORING THE FUTURE STUDY. http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/druguse

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PAST MONTH DRUG USE BY 8TH AND 10TH GRADERS, BY DRUG TYPE:

1991 TO 2001

PERCENTAGE REPORTING USE

ANY DRUG COCAINE MARIJUANA

Grade: 8th 10th 8th 10th 8th 10th

YEAR

1991 5.7% 11.6% 0.5% 0.7% 3.2% 8.7%

1992 6.8 11.0 0.7 0.7 3.7 8.1

1993 8.4 14.0 0.7 0.9 5.1 10.9

1994 10.9 18.5 1.0 1.2 7.8 15.8

1995 12.4 20.2 1.2 1.7 9.1 17.2

1996 14.6 23.2 1.3 1.7 11.3 20.4

1997 12.9 23.0 1.1 2.0 10.2 20.5

1998 12.1 21.5 1.4 2.1 9.7 18.7

1999 12.2 22.1 1.3 1.8 9.7 19.4

2000 11.9 22.5 1.2 1.8 9.1 19.7

2001 11.7 22.7 1.2 1.3 9.2 19.8

SOURCE: MONITORING THE FUTURE STUDY.

In the cartoon "Dilbert," the young engineer is sitting at his office desk.

He thinks to himself, "I like to start each workday by visualizing how my work will make the world a better place."

In the next panel his body is arched back and his hands flail in the air as he shouts, "GAAAA!!! My life is meaningless and nothing I do will ever matter!!!"

In the final panel he is composed and typing at his keyboard, saying to himself, "Okay, good. I like to get that out of the way early."