Interview one hundred people from all over the world and ask them, what is the meaning of life. Chances are you'll get many different answers. You might even get one hundred different answers when you count slight variations. That's because we're all imperfect limited and opinionated beings with subjective (often limited) interpretations of objective things while we are alive on earth, as God intended.
So the goal in such a broad topic as this is to acknowledge we are imperfect, subject to mistakes and all have our own interpretation of things. And because of this, the best we can do is try to align ourselves with the already existing object truth of whatever that true meaning of life is.
In an attempt to align with that preexisting truth this article offers a Bible-based perspective to use in your search for the meaning of life, for your consideration. Interestingly, in Ecclesiastes 5:18, Solomon confronts this topic from the point of view of the physical and daily grind of work and relaxation and concludes:
Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.
I agree wholeheartedly with this. A healthy positive time on earth is a great starting point for finding your meaning in life. This sounds very different from the religious “you must suffer ever day” point of view, for which there is a place for this, but this is a larger topic for another time. As for the deeper meaning of life, surely it's not rooted in working every day just to enjoy food and drinks, right? Let's dig deeper.
My subjective understanding of the meaning and purpose of life involves navigating through the temporary journey here on earth in a manner that is most fulfilling and enjoyable (as Solomon declares in the book of Ecclesiastes), but where our understanding grows and we eventually see, obey and embrace God's restorative plan for us, which then (after death) culminates with a glorious transformation and eternal coexistence with God Himself for all eternity. As we recognize and further understand this process we learn to glorify God, praise Him, love Him and thank Him for this gift of life and we then share that love and good news with others by helping others and doing to them what God has done for us.
Now let's turn our attention to a few foundational topics for exploring the meaning of life using a biblical model. Pardon the long list, but each topic adds an important segment to the full understanding:
Meaning, purpose and intentionality all go together and can only be appreciated by humans. Other human elements such as desire and satisfaction are intricately tied to meaning and purpose. This is because we were created by God for intentional reasons. According to the scriptures God created man in His image and dispensed to mankind these meaningful, purposeful and intentional traits not found in animals. Think of mankind as mini-models of who God is. And think of these inner traits as reflections and reminders of God's original intended plan for us. In other words, our very quest for meaning and purpose as well as fellowship and love are indicative of the original purpose of our creation.
Things that are broken, fallen or ruined need to be restored or rescued. Someone who is about to be destroyed in a fire or hostage situation will need to be delivered. A hostage or prisoner found tied up in a war scenario may need to be freed or untied from the restraints. Someone who is paralyzed or too old or sick, who's in a fire or an abusive situation may need to be removed from that dangerous situation.
All of us can relate to these simple terms: Restore, rescue, delivered, freed, removed – because they refer to essentially the same thing applied to different situations. We use words like rescue and deliverance here, in order to steer away from the broader and sometimes controversial uses of the word “salvation” which we see today in many churches.
Many of these broad and controversial uses of the verb form of the word "salvation" involve the broad use of the tense form. 'Tense' in this case defined as (emphasis added):
a distinction of form in a verb to express distinctions of TIME or DURATION of the action or state it denotes
In the interest of simplicity and clarity; “salvation” and or “saved”, phrases whose past, present or future form are all used in scripture – all still retains their original meanings of being rescued, restored, delivered, freed or removed from danger. For this reason we'll refer to “salvation” as synonymous with being rescued, restored, delivered etc. Further analysis of the word (i.e. “salvation” or “saved” and its improper and or potentially misleading use) will be deferred, and is outside the scope of this article.
Ultimately God's rescue or restoration plan (salvation) is real and available to us, but you can't see it unless you see that you need it, so let's see how we can make sense of it all in such a way that will be easy to understand:
To make sense of this we have to resort to the most basic question: Restoration from what? To answer this we need to understand the fall of mankind described in the book of Genesis.
In the beginning God created man for His purpose, THEN sin occurred, and thus the fall of mankind took place when Adam and Eve transgressed God's commandment. Ever since this original sin, humanity has been separated from God.
Some might say, “no big deal, I've heard this before”. But, did you know that this singular event is the cause of ALL suffering and death on earth? Sounds like a pretty big deal to me! Every form of pain and agony, strife, contention, sickness and disease, all suffering and war - all of these human struggles are ultimately due to our fallen sinful state that resulted from Adam and Eve's disobedience to God and the fall of mankind.
So how do we undo all of this? God has provided a rescue plan, a restoration or salvation plan (as the image above shows) through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. The full process of atonement was accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, two historically verifiable events, by the way!
You can read the Old Testament to understand the atonement process put in place by God when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments to give to the people of Israel. Back then, the people of Israel had to atone for their sins through a long detailed process involving sacrifices of animals and meticulous observation of rules which amounted to having to live a perfect life. More on this later.
A person without God and the help of the Holy Spirit will label this entire plan of redemption, restoration and salvation as foolishness, but that is because of their lack of understanding.
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Below is a sequence of items (arguments and motivational and provocative constructs) for your consideration which hopefully will provide guidance to understanding what salvation is and how you can be saved (which starts with being truly born again, as discussed earlier).
God is sovereign, holy and perfect and He exists OUTSIDE of our reality of time, space and matter. This single piece of knowledge stomps most people who are often led to believe that God is a god that needs to meet our demands and "prove" to us that He exists. Without this "proof" they reduce God to a myth of a boring mystic character who hangs out in the clouds somewhere. Nothing could be further from the truth.
For perspective on how powerful the glory of God is, consider that the light emitted from the sun is but a tiny fraction of the light and glory that comes from God. God is also far BEYOND anything we could ever imagine. In Luke 12:7 Jesus reminds the people crowded around Him of the degree to which God knows everything about us.
Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Psalm 139:13 says:
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
All that we are is made by God!
God's love is beyond what we can understand. The Bible says that God IS love thus love is at the core and nature of who God is. Those who don't understand God's love and instead live in rebellion, believe that a God of love would never condemn people to hell. That is because they don't understand the nature of who God is. God is holy and sin separates us from this holy God. God is love (agape love) and he is also a God of justice. What sinful man doesn't understand is this gap between who God is and who we are - and the love required to bridge that gap.
1 John 4:7-10 says:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Love is a FORCE more powerful than anything in this life. Love drives the existance of humanity and love changes lives forever more than anything else can! When you begin to try to understand what love is, then you can begin to consider that while we were yet sinners and entirely undeserving of mercy, compassion or love, God the Father sent his only Son to die for us as an eternal atonement for sin, for those who put their trust in Him.
Jesus took a full beating, was despised by many, he never fought back and he suffered a brutal death out of obedience to His Father's will and love for us. Think about that! The Bible tells us that Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before him. There is something powerful about God's love and the Bible gives us examples of this type of love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 says:
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth
Colossians 1:15-17 says:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Think about this! Jesus is the actual source and the very nature of life itself! Understanding who Jesus is, compels us to explore the MYSTERY of God. In Colossians 1: 25-26 Paul the Apostle says:
to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints
Unfortunately today many think of Jesus in whatever manner others choose to portray Him as, for their own selfish (often political) purpose. For example, some (Christian Nationalists or political voices) portray Jesus as a cruel hateful person who goes around flipping tables, hates sinners, hates anyone who doesn't obey, doesn't care about immigrants or needy people that don't obey the law. Whereas others (secular side) portray Jesus as a cool crack-smoking hippie ready to “hang with the bros” as you sin and do whatever you want, and as He hangs out in the clouds chilling out. The point here is that the view people have of Jesus is entirely erroneous. He is much more than you and I can imagine, He is both the Lion and the Lamb. Think of the contrast! This goes to the nature of God being a God of Love AND Justice.
John 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
Salvation is the GIFT that God the father made available to all of humanity (to those who truly believe and are faithful) so that while we are on earth we can be freed from the curse of the Law (given to Moses), and when we die we can inherit eternal life (as mentioned at the start).
Due to the faith of one man (Abraham) God promised Abraham that his seed would be blessed. Through the seed of Abraham humanity would be FREED from the bondage of the Law and sin, which marked the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden.
Most people cannot imagine what it was like having to live under the Law. It was all about works. You had to physically DO a LOT to atone for your sins. It was a form of bondage that all came to an end when Jesus breathed his last breath then rose again. For this reason Jesus said "It is done!" before dying on the cross.
Understand that with His death and resurrection, Jesus actually conquered death on behalf of humanity! While this may be difficult for all of us to understand, this is what happened and the rescue operation was a success. A new covenant was drawn out where we can be free if we believe in Him. And with that, the current era of grace was ushered in. Meaning, we don't have to rely on a priest to sacrifice for us at the Temple, but instead we can commune and speak with God directly!
Now, instead of offering sacrifices and observing a long list of rules to get into heaven, all you need to do is accept Jesus into your heart and confess your sins, and really mean it (i.e. not just an intellectual confession but a life-transforming belief. Jesus said you must be "born again"), and the Bible says you will be saved (rescued, delivered etc) (see Romans 10:13).
Today “born again” is a poorly understood even controversial phrase often met with “what does that mean?”. It's a phrase that came out of Jesus' very mouth, so lets consider it seriously and see how it applies to the lives of true believers.
Jesus said being born again has to do with a spiritual rebirth process which would come with an outward behavioral change manifestation. Note that in the context described by Jesus it is not a declaration of WORDS (e.g. “Hey I'm a believer” or “I'm a Christian”) - it is quite the other way around. It is evidenced by the declaration others will make of you when they SEE for themselves the (spiritual) genuine fruit (or rebirth) coming out of you as a whole, not just words.
This rebirth which Jesus referred to being “born of the Spirit”, transforms how you think, what you desire, your perspectives and goals in life, and your attitude towards others (loving and helping others, forgiveness, compassion, sacrificing for those in need etc). In essence your nature starts to match the nature of Jesus, which then serves as a testimony to others of God's love and transforming power. Jesus addressed this issue directly in John 3:7-8
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
And there are many instructions in the Bible on how to KEEP walking with Christ every day of our lives as the Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ.
As stated at the start, finding the meaning to life involves purpose, understanding and perspective. This article hopefully addresses all of these from a meaningful biblical perspective. Hopefully readers are compelled to research for themselves the authenticity of the Bible, the foundation upon which all morality is based on, the reality of the spirit realm and the historical scientific and physical evidence that points to the existence of a God. While many ideologies and religions offer many answers, roads and stated purposes and solutions to life, only God's plan and purpose as outlined in scripture has proven over time to stand the tests of authenticity in the above categories (authenticity of the bible, physical scientific evidence, reality of the spirit realm, foundation of morality) and perpetually opens mind, changes lives and offers deep timeless satisfaction that no other roads religions or ideologies can offer.
Thanks for reading.