We humans are the only earthly creatures that ask for meaning. We are concerned with three basic questions: Where do I come from? What do I live for? Where am I going? Many have thought about this. Karlsruhe philosopher Hans Lenk stresses that we should not expect any answers from his field when he writes: “Philosophy rarely gives final substantive solutions; it is a problematic subject, not a material and outcome subject. For them, a new perspective on the problem may be far more important than a partial solution to a traditional question.” The poet Hermann Hesse writes: “Life is meaningless, cruel, stupid, and yet magnificent; it does not mock people. But it cares no more for humans than it cares for earthworms.” The French existentialist writer and atheist Simone de Beauvoir is lost in meaninglessness: “What meaning does life have if it is radically destroyed, annihilated? Then why was it there? In short, everything is meaningless: the beauty of life, the actions of people, everything. Life is absurd. Even sciences such as psychology, biology and medicine cannot give us an answer because the question of meaning is not part of their field of statements.
Some people see the meaning of their life in this.

  • They want to do good: Many people have this humanistic idea that is not yet specifically Christian. Christians are also commanded to do good (Gal 6:10; 2 Thess 3:13), but whoever does good works is not yet a Christian.
  • They themselves earn respect: athletes strive for world championship titles and gold medals. Artists seek recognition on stages around the world.
  • They want to create something that will last forever: they think it will last in their children or in society (e.g., through foundations associated with their name). Others wish to immortalize themselves in their own poems, memoirs or diaries.

We must remember: all worldly glory is only temporary. After our death, we ourselves no longer have any of it, because wherever we go, “we no longer have a share in the world in anything that happens under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:6). If our life is a creation of God, it can only have meaning if we live it with this God and are guided by him. A human heart, even if it had all the happiness in the world, would remain restless, empty and unsatisfied if it did not find rest in God. That is why we want to know from God what gives us meaning. This can be summed up in three points:

  1. God’s purpose for our lives is that we come to faith. Without saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we perish. That is why Paul told the Philippian jailer: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved” (Acts 16:31). In this sense, “God wants everyone to be helped and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Because this salvation is a priority for every human life, the Lord Jesus first said to the man with gout: “Your sins are forgiven you!” (Matthew 9:2). From God’s perspective, saving the soul takes priority over healing the body.
  2. When we are saved, we are in God’s service: “Serve the Lord with joy” (Psalm 100:2). As followers of Jesus, our lives should be designed so that we also make disciples of others (Matthew 28:19).
  3. Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). With this commandment of love, God commits us not only to those who are far away in South Africa or Chile, but first and foremost to those who are entrusted directly to us: our spouses, our children, our parents, our neighbors, our co-workers … . The Bible takes it for granted that we love ourselves as a given, but this love should also apply to our neighbor.

What we have done in faith in points 2 and 3 above is what the Bible describes as the fruit of our life. In contrast to all temporary successes, only the fruit is permanent (John 15:16). God looks for them at the end of our life and asks us what we have accomplished with the resources we have entrusted to them (life, time, money, talents) (Luke 19:11-27). Even the cup of cold water that we gave in the name of Jesus then has an eternal meaning (Mt 10:42).