Searching For The Meaning Of Life

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Growing up in the 80's and 90's, I remember so many cartoons in which a character would climb to the top of a high mountain to ask some old man the meaning of life. Being as this is an almost impossible question to answer, it was usually met with a comical response from the old man. The person who spent so much effort to ask the sage a very legitimate question is left exasperated and unfulfilled. While the cartoon made it funny, the truth is that it tapped into how so many adults feel in their life. They are aimlessly existing, feeling unfulfilled, and without purpose.

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Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

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King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live (not including Jesus) asked the very same question. He conducted an experiment in which he was the test subject. He tried everything he could think of to find fulfillment in life. Everything he tried left him feeling hopeless and unfulfilled. As a matter of fact, most of the book of Ecclesiastes is pretty depressing. It really all distills down to these last two verses in which Solomon answers the question of the meaning of life.

"Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." How much more plain can it get? Fear, a healthy fear, of the Creator of the universe motivates us to be obedient. Solomon also tells us in verse 14 that God is going to judge everything we do. We fear him not just because of His creative power, but also because He is the judge of His creation. The world is His; that includes us.

In order to keep His commandments, we must know His commandments. This means that we must study God's word. God's word tells us everything He expects of us. There is nothing new that He will spring on us. Everything He calls us to will fall within the commandments we receive in His word.

People are living life felling hopeless and depressed because they are not doing what God created them to do. God made us to worship Him. Our lives are designed to be spent in relationship with God. We spend so much time trying to live for everything else, then wonder why life feels so meaningless. We look back and wonder where did our lives go? It feels wasted, because many times it is. If we want our lives to have purpose and feel fulfilled, then we must live a life in which we "Fear God and keep his commandments". This is the meaning of life!

Father, help me to life my life for you. I want my life to have purpose and meaning. I know that this means I must live my life in the way that you created me to live it. Thank you for not leaving us wondering why we are here.