The Meaning of Life

In the science fiction novel & movie, “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,” the author writes about Deep Thought, the powerful supercomputer that has been given the task of determining the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. It takes Deep Thought seven and a half million years to come back with an answer, which is...42. Someone yells at the computer and says, “42?” Is that all you’ve got to show for seven and a half million years of work?”

“I checked it very thoroughly, replies Deep Thought, and that’s quite definitely the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you’ve never actually known what the question is.”

Everyone wants to know the meaning of life, but to get to the right answer we have to ask the right questions. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon asks questions like, "Does life have any point? And if it does, what is it? Are we all here by chance? And if not, why not, why are we here?" And the most important question of them all is, "Is there meaning to all this apart from God?"

Solomon goes on a quest to "seek and discover" the answers to his questions in every possible way. He shows us in painstaking detail what the world looks like through a purely horizontal perspective. Study all the philosophy, science, and religion you want. You can travel the world and study different cultures, but it will still all end in frustration. Incidentally, attending church will never fill this void either.

There is only One who straddles the course of human history and satisfies our deepest longings and He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jn. 14:6). If you are not satisfied with what the world has to offer, and trust me, you never will be, invite Him into your life today!

Press on!

Pastor Brian Richard