By Chris WittsThursday 9 Nov 2023Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
In the US Some years ago, there was a new story about 17-year-old Karen Cheng. A brilliant high school student. She achieved scores on the academic tests higher than anyone had ever done before. She earned a perfect score on the difficult University of California acceptance test, and her teachers at Mission San Jose High School called her the Wonder Woman because of her unquenchable thirst for knowledge and her amazing ability to retain what she reads.
She does indeed have a brilliant mind, and when the news reporters were talking to her about the potential, she had to do anything that she wanted to do, one of the reporters asked Karen, what is the meaning of life? Her reply startled everybody, she said. I have no idea. I would like to know myself.
As I thought about that, I’m sure Karen is not alone in making that statement. Thousands of people think the same way. One common rephrasing is what is it that makes life worth living? There are any number of subjective answers to that question. It’s very complex, and it’s often been claimed that many people wonder about the meaning of life. Where do they fit into it?
I did hear about another young lady who earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree. She lived in the academic world and was working with academics. But her heart was empty. Something was missing in her emotional and spiritual life, and she hungered for meaningful relationships.
She wanted a much greater meaning to life than she found in the academic world. As the Nobel Prize winner and notable scholar Conrad Lawrence said, Life itself is a process of acquiring knowledge. Now, according to this interpretation, the very essence of life is the pursuit of knowledge. But really, is that enough to satisfy?
The prominent atheist Richard Dawkins, for example, claims that human beings are just throw away survival machines. Our only purpose, he says, is to survive and replicate genes Well, to me, that’s a very sad and pessimistic answer.
Just like the atheist Bertrand Russell, right at the end of his life, said, “There is darkness without, and when I die, there’ll be darkness within.” There is no splendour, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing. Well, I don’t want those thoughts at the end of my life. Surely life is significant, isn’t it?
Or is it just a meaningless jumble coming from nowhere, going nowhere with nothing in between. Let me suggest this morning a better way. The meaning of life is to know God, to enjoy him and to reflect some of the beauty of God as we know him and Jesus. And one day we’ll see him perfectly and enjoy him forever. And if we can base our life on this principle, our days here will have meaning and significance. And we can experience a deep sense of peace knowing that life is worthwhile.
After all, the Bible says that God is the creator of everything. God created the entire world, including us. And there’s nothing that exists apart from himself that he didn’t create – the stars, the Angels, the subatomic particles are all part of the universe that he spoke into existence. We read it in Genesis one from the Old Testament.
He not only created everything that’s seen and unseen, he also created human beings. God is our designer and the source of purpose in the universe. And if you believe that you’re on your way to discovering the meaning to life. I guess what I’m saying is that our meaning and destiny are found in Jesus Christ.
Jesus so wonderfully explains the meaning of life in John 8:12, he said of himself. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” People don’t understand their own meaning. But Jesus promises to give the light of life in other words, the meaning of life. To those who follow him, the followers of Christ will understand the meaning of life.
Jesus gives a destiny to those who believe in him. And I think until we find our purpose in Christ, we’ll be forever knocking around in the darkness of this world. Only through God, as revealed in the Bible. Do we understand the meaning of life?
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father, I pray that you will give me a true understanding of the meaning of life. It’s such a big subject, Lord, and there are so many answers and things unknown. But as I trust in you, I believe you will show me the answer day by day. Amen.