The question ‘What is the meaning of life?’ is often written off as a rather ridiculous, impossible-to-answer conversation stopper.
But it is actually a very important question to find out the answer to.
Because it’s a question about meaning and life, and meaning and life are important; they are things we instinctively know are weighty and significant.
We want to know what things mean
“What did Shakespeare mean in this part of this play?”
“What does it mean when a cold front is approaching?”
And we want to do things which are meaningful.
We desire meaningful relationships and most of us want to contribute to society, or to our plans, or to our families in a meaningful way.
Meaning is important to us.
If we watch a film which has no meaning whatsoever it is frustrating for us. We feel cheated.
We have a need to do things that have a point or a purpose, or that are working towards an outcome.
Life is important to us
Life’s not worthless or cheap. Life’s not irrelevant.
Life is deep and precious and sacred.
And it’s rich and varied and vibrant…
There’s so much of life to be experienced. Life contains Adele’s voice, Anish Kapoor’s sculptures and Van Gogh’s sunflowers.
Surely life in all its preciousness and vibrancy must mean something.
So what does life mean? Can we know what life means? Is it possible to find out if life has any meaning or purpose at all?
I want to put it to you that without God, life has no meaning.
And this is the case for two reasons:
1. We are far too limited to find out life’s meaning on our own.
Imagine a gym ball. Imagine the space inside it represents all of the knowledge in the entire universe.
How much of that knowledge do you know?
A square inch?
A square centimetre?
A square millimetre?
Surely none of us would even dare claim to have even that much knowledge.
We don’t even know what the contents are of every book in the smallest public library in Reading, let alone know what is the meaning of life.
By contrast God knows everything.
He knows the co-ordinates of every star in the sky, the contents of every book in every library in every country of the world, what there is in the basements of Area 51 and whether Budweiser beer really does condition the hair.
Shouldn’t we therefore look to him to find the meaning to life?
Isn’t it a bit arrogant to think we can work it out ourselves?
Saying that we know what is the meaning of life, is a bit like me saying I can understand how Google works on my own.
There’s no way I could find out how Google works on my own; I’d have to ask someone, and probably the best person to ask would be the creator(s) of Google.
Isn’t the best way to find out what a play means to ask the playwright?
To find out what a lyric means is’s best to ask the songwriter?
2. We need God to find the meaning of life because without God, we are creatures who are the product of chance.
Whatever you believe about creation or evolution, I’m assuming that if you don’t believe in God, you do believe the world happened by chance.
That, as philosopher Julian Baggini puts it, “If we take a long, cold look back to our origins, we just find ape-like ancestors and an evolutionary trail that leads back to the big bang.”i
And I’m also assuming that you believe that the big bang was the product of an accidental collision of something.
That no purpose or plan caused that collision, it just happened as randomly as a leaf falling from a tree and landing on a particular car windscreen.
If life was started in a meaningless way, surely life has no meaning?
If there was no purpose behind the start-up of the universe, then surely a drawing pin has more purpose than life does.
So: Life + no God = meaningless
But: Life + God = meaning
God brings meaning to life
God brings meaning to life because God made us and made life.
And the one who made us has the right to tell us what life means.
The best person to tell us what the book 1984 means is George Orwell. Because he wrote it.
The best person to explain to us what the film Inception means is Christopher Nolan, because he wrote and directed it.
The best person to tell us what life means is God, because he designed it and created it.
And the thrust of the Bible is that God has come to earth in person to tell us all about life and what it means.
Imagine you don’t know anything about American Football.
You’re up late, watching the NFL Super Bowl on Channel 5 and the men on the pitch look like they’re just running aimlessly everywhere. The game has no meaning for you.
Two scenarios could take place to help bring meaning to the game.
- You could make up some rules and principles. I.e. you could invent the meaning of the game.
- Or, there’s a knock on your door and an NFL coach walks in, sits on your bed beside you and explains what the game means to you.
Which is the better scenario?
Which is more satisfying?
Which will reveal the true meaning of the game?
Jesus is the NFL coach who came into the room of our world and explained to us how the game of life works.
He’s the playwright who steps onto the stage to tell us about the play.
He’s the Christopher Nolan explaining the intricacies of the Inception of life to us.
He’s God in human form telling us what the meaning of life is in a way we can understand.
He knows, after all. He made us, and gave life to us, and set us up in the world.
And finding out the meaning of life from the maker of life is deeply satisfying, just like it would be deeply satisfying to a fan of Inception to have Christopher Nolan personally explaining its meaning.
So what is the meaning of life?
The Bible contains the meaning of life.
The Bible is God’s ‘Haynes Meaning of Life Manual’.
And the essence of the Bible and therefore the essence of the meaning of life, is for us to know God, be fulfilled in Him, and enjoy Him.
Jesus told us that life is about knowing God when he said,
“…this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ…”ii
God doesn’t just want us to know him though; he wants us to enjoy him too.
We see this in the Psalms. The Psalms are the hymns of the Bible. They are poetry about life. One of them, Psalm 34, says this, “O taste and see that the Lord is good!”
God wants us to taste him, to experience him, enjoy him and see how good he is.
He wants us to enjoy his world. He designed us to experience pleasure.
Have you ever thought about that?
Think about food and eating. Our mouths and taste buds are receptive to taste and texture which can give us great pleasure.
Think about sex. God could have made reproduction like filling up a car with petrol. But he didn’t. He designed it to be an intensely pleasurable experience.
God is keen on pleasure.
He’s designed our bodies and our minds to be receptive to pleasure.
And when we find pleasure in him and in what he’s given us; when we enjoy him, we are most fulfilled.
Christianity injects meaning into the veins of life. And gives us deep lasting satisfaction and fulfilment as a result.
Atheism, or a belief that life started accidentally, sucks meaning out of life.
How can life have real meaning if life began in a meaningless way?
If life has no meaning, then life is at best frustrating, and at worst terrible, and is, as Bertrand Russell put it, built “…on the firm foundation of unyielding despair.”iii
Because it’s distressing isn’t it, to look up to the stars and to think, “What’s the point of it all?
Why am I here? What does it all mean?”
Atheism, or a belief that life started accidentally not only sucks real meaning out of life, it makes death appalling.
Death is the eraser which comes along and rubs us out of life forever.
All we’ve striven for, worked towards, attained and enjoyed is severed from us forever.
Without God, doesn’t death make life meaningless? Doesn’t it mock life’s efforts?
One philosopher from the Bible wrote,
“Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. What does man gain from all his labour at which he toils under the sun?”iv
Without God, the answer is nothing. Man labours and toils and then in an instant is removed forever from everything.
It’s appalling to think death instantly separates us from all of life forever.
But with God, death is not the eraser which rubs us out of life forever.
It is the portal which transports us into life forever.
And that life is a life where the things done on earth still matter, are still worth something, and are still honoured and remembered forever.
That life is a continuation of knowing and discovering and enjoying more of God.
It is a life of fulfilling our potential unhampered by the restraints we encounter on earth.
It is a life of peace, satisfaction and joy.
It is life without racism, sexism, abuse, injustice, spin or spite.
It is eternal life, with God and with Jesus.
And Jesus offers that eternal life to us.
He says,
“Come to me and find meaning and fulfilment. Find life and have it to the full. Come to me and find that death loses its sting. Come to me and find life forever where unhappiness and pain are extinct and peace and delight are alive and well.”
What will you do?
Where will you look for meaning?
Yourself, or God?
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If you have any questions about this article, or would like to meet up and chat with someone about it, please email us.
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i From an article in the Guardian on Monday 20 September 2004 entitled ‘Revealed – the meaning of life’
ii John 17:3, The Bible
iii From A Free Man’s Worship by Bertrand Russell
iv Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, The Bible
