There is a question that lurks at the back of our minds, niggling, scratching, attempting to penetrate our consciousness. We keep it at bay with busyness, distractions, vanity, and ambition, but it still scratches. The question is this: What is the purpose of life? What is the point of it all? What will remain of me when I take my last breath? That is the question that has scratched at the brain of every thinking person from the start.

Albert Camus wrote about the character of Sisyphus, who is found in Greek mythology. He was condemned to roll a stone up a hill until he was ten paces from the top, and then let it roll back down again only to roll it up again and repeat ad infinitum.

Life sometimes feels this way: eat, sleep, work, repeat. What is the point? Bertrand Russell said we are nothing more than an “accidental collocation of atoms destined to end in the heat death of the universe.” He went on to say, “Only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.”

Dawkins said we live in a universe of “blind, pitiless indifference.”

If human beings are here by a biological accident, then what is the meaning of life?

Do we live and breathe and die all for nothing? Is there any arc to our story? Or is it a plotless existence that simply happens and then ends?

Many of the great thinkers of history have embraced this idea of material meaninglessness. Steven J. Gould argues that we must “construct our own meaning,” but what gives our “construct” any meaning? Who determines it? By what standards do we measure whether or not we have been successful?

If God is not a reality, then we can be our own master. We can do as we please. We can construct our own meaning. But without God, none of it means anything; life has no ultimate purpose. Our “freedom” becomes utterly meaningless.

Aldous Huxley said very honestly:

“I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; and consequently, assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics. He is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do. For myself, as no doubt for most of my friends, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom. The supporters of this system claimed that it embodied the meaning – the Christian meaning, they insisted – of the world. There was one admirably simple method of confuting these people and justifying ourselves in our erotic revolt: we would deny that the world had any meaning whatever.”

This is an interesting and honest quote. To be a free, moral agent, we must remove God, but if we remove God, we lose our life’s meaning and purpose. Here Huxley acknowledges that total human, moral freedom comes only when we “deny that the world has any meaning whatever.” This is a high price to pay, and we are seeing the consequences of it throughout our world today. The void of meaninglessness is eating at people’s souls.

Anxiety is at an all-time high in the West, as we leave young people to face the void alone.

The temporary distractions of our imminent frame – social media, Netflix, pornography – can only temporarily keep the abyss at bay. In reality, in the face of eternity, we need God standing with us.

Albert Camus argued that, “If my freedom has no meaning except in relation to its limited fate, then I must say that what counts is not the best living but the most living. It is not up to me to wonder if this is vulgar or revolting, elegant or deplorable. Once and for all, value judgments are discarded here in favour of factual judgments.” According to Camus, because nothing matters, we should spend our lives in pursuit of pleasure. In a meaningless universe, we are free to do this, and ultimately, the only thing worth anything is the quantity of pleasure we experience.

The French Poet Beaudalaire rigorously pursued hedonism in great “quantity.” However, his friends would recall that he experienced a persistent twitch: images of his pursuits involuntarily flashed before his mind, tormenting him. Perhaps you have had this same experience on occasion: unbidden flashes of your pursuits of pleasure, or images from an incognito internet tab, passing before your eyes.

It would seem then that, yes, we can have moral freedom, but we must give up any meaning our lives might hold to attain it. And, as Baudelaire (and I, for that matter) will testify, even having the moral freedom to do as we please can lead to more torment than pleasure.

The truth is, we were created for a purpose.

As trains are designed to move along their tracks, we are designed to move along the tracks of God’s will for our lives. His purpose stretches out ahead of us, curving and winding, climbing and descending according to his will, his good and perfect will. To step into our purpose, we must agree to travel on his track (Philippians 2:13). We “lose” our moral freedom as we submit our will to God the creator, but we gain meaning, purpose, and eternal life. We learn quickly that his good standard brings joy and peace into our lives, and that his “law of liberty” (James 2:12) is what brings true freedom, the freedom to be who we were created to be.

When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before the crucifixion, he prayed, “If possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not my will but yours be done” (Matthew 26:39). We serve a God who loves us so much that he submitted his will, his freedom, and his pleasure to the Father. He did that, all the way to the cross, all the way into death, for you and me. He did it because of his eternal love for us.

When we think about the reason to keep going every day, we must remember the love of Christ for us; that his death frees us from death and imbues our life with eternal purpose.

Speaking as one who tried it, being the master of your own life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. However, it is possible to hand over the reins to God today. The God of love, who gave up everything for you, is waiting for you. He waits for you to come to him, and in him, find life eternal.

What is the purpose of life? God created us to know him, to know his voice (John 10:27-28). He gave up his power and glory; he came to earth, lived as a man, died, and rose again, all so that we could be close to him. He wants us to hear his voice. It is so difficult to make our way through the unstable ever-shifting world we live in, but when we choose to follow God, we have access to His mind and his voice, as he guides us faithfully day by day.

“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace” (Psalm 29:10-13).

Yes, life can feel like a flood. I have often felt as if I were drowning; even the world around me appears to be drowning. But we have a God who sits enthroned above the storm. He wants to speak to you; he wants to guide you; he wants to fill every day of your life with his touch and his presence (James 4:8).

Knowing that the God of the universe is guiding your life makes everything you experience eternally significant.

R.C. Sproul wrote, “Everything that we experience, every pain we endure and every tear that we shed is significant – forever.” This is what gives our lives meaning. No suffering is unseen; no pain passed over; God is working everything for our good eternally (Romans 8:28).

Because God is real, because he is personal, that means “what happens in history matters” (Charles Taylor). It all matters to God, and he wastes none of it.

The Lord is speaking; his word is as alive today in our secular age as it has ever been. As he guides our days and directs our paths, we see his will and plans unfold; we see how God and only God can turn the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of our lives into something beautiful as he uses them for his good purposes. It is God’s hand on our lives, his involvement, that fills our life with purpose.

_Bibliography

_{Camus, Albert, Justin O’Brien. The Myth Of Sisyphus, And Other Essays. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.}

_{Huxley, Aldous. Ends and Means. London: Chatto & Windus, 1937.}

_{Russell, Bertrand. A Free Man’s Worship, and Other Essays, London: Unwin Books, 1976.}

_{(Stephen J. Gould quote) Kinnier, Richard, Jerry Kernes, and Nancy Tribbensee, eds. The Meaning of Life: According to the Great and the Good. Palazzo Editions, 2007, P. 108.}

_{Dawkins, R. River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1995.}

_{Sproul, R. C. Surprised by Suffering (Robert Charles), 1939-2017.}

_{Taylor, C. A secular age. New York: Walker, Harvard 18th ed., 2007.}

Recently, the hashtag “#goals” has been widely used on social media. If a person is scrolling through Instagram and sees a beautiful couple, they might comment with the hashtag #relationshipgoals, or if they see a stylish outfit on a person, they comment with the hashtag #fashiongoals, a picture of a beautiful, toned body might inspire the hashtag #fitnessgoals, and on and on it goes, looking at other people and other people’s things and aspiring to them.

In fact, “aspiring” might actually be a generous word to describe the sentiments people are expressing with this hashtag. Aspiring, would indicate some level of effort to actually achieve what these other people on Instagram appear to have. However, I actually think this hashtag generally denotes a sense of envy, and that’s all. Do we really want other people’s lives that much? Do we as Christians not realize that God has written a story for our own lives that encompasses our highest fulfillment and purpose, so why do we give up on our own stories and instead spend all our time scrolling through other people’s lives and wanting their story instead.

I think the answer to this question lies in the word “vision” the Bible tells us in Proverbs 29:18 that “without a vision the people perish.” God has a purpose for your life. It is up to you to catch God’s vision for your own life and get excited about who you are as a God-designed individual with a singular purpose. Vision literally means “to see;” do you see what your purpose on this earth is? Do you understand the unique gifts and experience God has blessed you with? Are you looking for ways to be used by God? Or is your sightline so cluttered with other people’s lives that you’ve completely lost sight of your own?

Is your own life perishing because you have no vision?

A woman who suffered from infertility was once asked how she coped with going to her friends’ baby showers. She replied that she would remind herself, that she only wanted the story that God was writing for her. She knew whatever it was, it would be great, because it was what God had for her. She was excited about her future and how God was going to use her and didn’t allow other people’s stories to make her feel like hers wasn’t as good as theirs. She knew, if she continued to follow God, He would write her a good and purpose-filled story. I think that is something we all need to remember. God has a plan and a purpose for you and your #goals need to be the future that God has written for you, not the one He has written for somebody else.

If we picture a jigsaw puzzle, we realize that every piece of the jigsaw is of equal importance. The picture will never be complete if each puzzle piece is not in its unique place. There is a place for you, a future for you; you were created for a purpose only you can fulfill. But if you are wishing you are a different piece of the puzzle and desperately trying to change to look like that piece, then it will ruin the whole puzzle.

Let’s have a vision for our lives, but let it be the one that God has created uniquely for us. This is the best way to make an impact on this world and to live a fulfilled life.

Another version translates that scripture in Proverbs 29:18 by saying “without a vision people cast off restraint,” if you are not aiming toward something, then you don’t need to put any restraints on your life, you can cast them off. But a person who is working toward a goal will put restraints on their life. An athlete will get up early and go out training every morning to position themselves to achieve the vision they have for their life. So yes, it is good to have goals, but they should be the goals God has placed on your heart for your own future. They should excite you about your own life and future rather than make you feel down trodden because your life isn’t as good as someone else’s.

Remember you are a vital part of God’s eternal puzzle.

For His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).

James 1:25 talks about us as believers walking in the law of liberty. “Law of liberty” seems like an oxymoron, but actually, in God’s plan for your life, it is not. When we have God’s vision for our lives, we will follow His ways; this will mean putting certain restraints on our lives, however; they are there for a purpose. When we follow God in every area in our lives, we can walk in true freedom. The freedom He has won for us, the freedom to be all He has called us to be and do all He has called us to do.

I would encourage you, in your pursuit of God’s purpose for your life, to restrain your feelings of being less than anyone else or feeling your life is not as good as theirs. Instead, get excited about the story God has written for you and make your #goals the calling God has placed on your own, very important life.

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with dozens of Calvary pastors from around the country in New York City for a special time of prayer and fellowship. Our time together was marked by a noticeable thirst to see God’s kingdom come and will be done in our cities as it is in heaven. Though primarily focused on those ministering in the East and Northeast, the meeting was designed for pastors around North America to gather and seek the Lord for His church. It was powerful, memorable and refreshing for everyone there.

One of the main takeaways for all of us was a quote that Pastor Brian Brodersen shared. He quoted author and Desiring God contributor, Ann Voskamp, who had recently tweeted, “Know your Lord. Know your lane.” What ensued was a robust dialogue for hours about how important it is to have an intimate relationship with God and to be acquainted and comfortable in the calling He has for us.

KNOW YOUR LORD

In Philippians 3:8-11, Paul says, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

In these verses, the apostle Paul compared his spiritual inventory before Christ—an impressive religious résumé by most standards—with refuse. In comparison to knowing Christ, Paul said all that religion offers should be thrown away as if it were unclean excrement. He said that his one desire was to simply know Jesus and the power of His resurrection, suffering and death.

Nothing compares to knowing our Lord. Jesus corrected busy Martha and drew attention to her sister Mary who had “chosen what is better” (Luke 10:42). What was Mary doing? She was sitting at the Lord’s feet. For Martha, the focus was on effort, work and tasks that were done in such a way that Jesus would be served. For Mary, the priority was spending time getting to know Jesus, not merely serving Him. Our ministry should flow out of our relationship with the Lord. Moses’ face was radiant after spending time in the presence of God (Exodus 34:29). Peter and John were identified by the religious leaders as “having been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). The highest priority for a pastor is to cultivate his relationship with God. We are messengers, not professionals. That means we must seek the King to receive from Him before we dare to speak for Him.

Spurgeon said it powerfully:

“If you want to serve God, as I trust you do, I charge you first be careful of your own souls; do not begin with learning how to preach, or how to teach, or how to do this and that; dear friend, get the strength within your own soul, and then even if you do not know how to use it scientifically, yet you will do much, The first thing is, get the heart warmed, stir up your manhood, brace up all your faculties, get the Christ within you, ask the everlasting God to come upon you, get him to inspire you, and then if your methods should not be according to the methods of others it will not matter, or if they should, neither will it be of consequence, having the power you will accomplish the results. But if you go about to perform the work before you have the strength from on high, you shall utterly fail. Better things we hope of you.”

Jesus said in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Peter ends his second epistle with these words, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). May we make the priority to know our Lord like never before and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior!

KNOW YOUR LANE

Obviously this is a reference to driving. When we drive, we stay in a particular lane for a particular amount of time. Often on my commute to work, I will see people frantically changing lanes to try and move ahead of the pace of traffic. But if you know what lane you need to be in, you can rest content to stay in your lane. When we “know our lane,” it means we understand who we are, and what God has called us to do and be. We aren’t striving to find and do ministry; we are serving the Lord exactly where He’s called us to be.

As a man and a minister, it is critical to know my calling. Paul opens up his first letter to Timothy by introducing himself as: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1). Paul explained to Timothy that he was called an apostle only by the command of God. An apostle is simply one who is sent. Paul didn’t ordain himself. He didn’t send himself. He was sent by the command of God. This clear call, traced back to the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9), would encourage Paul in the future, should he ever grow discouraged or distressed.

Later, he said this to his young protégé in the faith: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:12-13).

Paul could trace his calling into ministry back to the Lord Jesus. He didn’t enter the ministry under obligation, coercion or out of greed. He entered the ministry out of obedience. That is how all of us are to enter ministry!

In his final letter to Timothy, Paul’s “lane” was clearly delineated: “…To which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:11-12).

Paul knew his lane. He was a preacher, an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. He had all the spiritual past of someone well-equipped to minister to the Jew, but the Lord had opened specific doors for him to turn his attention to the Gentiles (Acts 18:6). Do you know your lane?

Some people struggle with “lane envy.” They want to be in someone else’s lane. They want someone else’s ministry, influence, church or life. Paul certainly could have argued with God about his calling: “But Lord, I would prefer to reach my fellow Jews, like Peter!” Instead, Paul understood that he was appointed on purpose for a specific purpose. When he rested in that, the Lord was glorified and the church advanced.

When we know our lane, we then have the capability to stay settled and content—knowing that the Lord is using us for His glory and our joy. Our unique gifts, personalities (and even quirks) can be redeemed and used to build His kingdom. We can advance the work of God doing what we love and are spiritually gifted to do. When we don’t know our lane, we stumble and struggle and squander precious years and energy while our real mission gathers dust.

Do you know your lane? Do you know your Lord?

Last Sunday’s game was, by many accounts, either one of the best Super Bowls in recent memory, or perhaps the best ever (hard to argue with the latter if you are an Eagles’ fan). In any case, such an enormous public platform as the Super Bowl (an estimated 103.4 million tuned in for the game) becomes a medium not only for the athletic skills of the various players, but for their respective personal stories as well. Two of the main stories going into the game were the personal stories of New England quarterback Tom Brady and Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles. As interesting as these stories are in their own right, from a Christian perspective, they are interesting for the ways in which they compare and contrast with a Christian worldview, and for how they might both help God’s people to compete in the arena of life.

Going into the game, the Patriots were the odds makers’ favorite to win the Super Bowl by a 4.5 margin, and the biggest reason for that was New England’s Tom Brady. Brady is without question one of the greatest, if not the greatest quarterback of all time (I did grow up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the Joe Montana era, so I understand the argument for him as well). Under his leadership, New England has established itself as one of the most dominant franchises in NFL history. Tom, himself, is smashing past records left and right. And to add to that, he is playing at 40 years old and still playing at the highest level (he passed for 505 yards, a new Super Bowl record). His commitment to the game, his willingness to learn, to change his diet, to explore alternative training and therapy, are inspiring as we all realize that while age really can slow us down, many times it is because we let it.

As a Christian, and a man who is about the same age as Tom Brady, I have become more and more convinced that our best years could be, and perhaps should be, in front of us.

One of the things that motivates Brady to continue playing and challenging himself is the belief that because he has seen so much more of his opponents’ formation and plays over the years, he ought to be able to respond even better now than ever before. Simply put, he has become much wiser. As Christians, as we grow in the Lord, and we see the many looks or temptations the Devil throws our way, we too ought to be learning, growing and responding better than ever before. Our spiritual life should be thriving, and perhaps, it is in our later years where we are meant to do even more for God than in our younger years. While it is true that we have to take our limits seriously, it is equally true that we must not impose false limitations on ourselves that keep us from pursuing God’s call on our lives.

At the beginning of episode five of his “Tom vs.Time” videos, Brady says, “Spirituality means a lot of different things to different people, for me, it’s your deepest purpose.” While one could critique this statement biblically and theologically, I find it quite useful. For Tom, his deepest purpose is to be the most he can be, not just on the field, but also at home with his family. This is admirable, and I could certainly think of worse purposes. But from a Christian perspective, something is missing. Christianity wants to say, yes, spirituality is your deepest purpose, but it is not something you decide for yourself. And as great as sports or family may be, they are ultimately not our greatest purpose. One of the great fathers of the early church, St. Augustine, summarized the mystery of life’s purpose this way, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” Our deepest purpose is to know the only true and living God, and Jesus Christ whom God has sent (John 17:3). So if we are truly finding our purpose, we will be constantly learning, growing and attempting great things for the kingdom. May what was said of Job be true of us, may our latter years be more blessed than the first (Job 42:12).