As I sat down to write this blog I cracked the window to
my office, started the coffee pot, checked my emails, and began the day as I
usually do. The scent of fall was coming through my window so like every year,
I put on my traditional fall music which consists of mainly of contemporary
blues songs such as Duffy’s “Warwick Avenue.”
The word ‘meaningful’ has been on my mind all day, and as I sat here soaking
in the change of season, I was reminded that apart from God, all the reality I
am soaking up is meaningless. Although I understand that everything is utterly meaningless
without God, when does something become meaningful?
The NIV version of the Bibles begins with the verse, “’Meaningless!
Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless’”
(1:2). In a world where ‘the eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its
fill of hearing’ (Ecc. 1:8, NIV), where do we find meaning? I sat and pondered on these two questions for
a while, and as I watched the sky change a small rainbow appeared out of a dark
cloud. There had been no rain today, only clouds filled the sky, but this tiny
rainbow peeked through. This is when I remembered the promise the Lord had made
to his people, this is also when I stumbled upon my own realization to the
meaning of life, and why it is meaningful to me.
In an American society that is constantly searching for
the meaning of life I decided to look up the definition of the American Dream. The
Merriam Webster Online Encyclopedia states that this dream is, “an American
social ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity.” How
sad to realize that the society we live in determines success and meaning
through the prosperity of one’s material possession rather than how knowledgeable
one is to the Word of God. If Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us “fear God and keep
his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind,” then why do we work so
hard to satisfy our own personal wealth with material riches rather than seek
God in all we do? Just as the NLV version of Proverbs 3:6 tells us, “seek his
will in all you do, and he will make straight your paths.’ The world as a whole
has become rich of the earth and poor of the soul, and if everything apart from
God is meaningless, then no wonder we are in a continual quest for the meaning
of life.
As I watched the rainbow outside my window start to fade,
I also remembered Colorado. This last week I was asked to come home and help
take care of my mother who had just had cosmetic surgery on her face,
liposuction. Although I laughed and told my brother, “Vanities, Vanities,” I
was still a little shocked in my hesitance to actually come home. I thought to
myself, I cannot just up and leave home, what will my clients think when they don’t
see their “sneak peaks’ and albums being finished, I can't just leave my
belongings behind and take off. My heart broke in half as the Lord put his word
into my heart. What is so important of all these earthly possessions that I
cannot just up and leave home for, and of what meaning do these material possessions
have to me? Nothing, they are of no meaning, however the world has taught me to
believe they hold meaning, substance, and value. However when the Lord calls me
home, do I ask him, “Can my laptop come?”
The meaning of life, without God, is like the rainbow. It
is there for a while, makes us happy, then quickly fades, leaving us looking
for the day we find another one. However the world is not completely void of
meaning. The Lord gives us meaning in life, but unless we seek it through him,
it will be like ‘chasing after the wind’, we will never find it.
In my life I find meaning in other people and my work. I
find that when I reach out to others and share my stories about the gospel, and
give them the stepping stones they need to seek the Lord, I find meaning. My mother
and father are meaningful to me because they set the foundation of my journey with
Christ in place and helped me find the Lord in the darkest areas of my life. I
have found meaning in the littlest thing, such as a morning breeze, or a cup of
coffee. Ultimately, I have found meaning in everything that I have done while
seeking the Lord in all that I do. Therefore when does something become
meaningful in such a meaningless world, and where do we find it? The beginning of
a meaningful life starts at the heart of wisdom, wisdom starts at the beginning
of knowledge of the Lord, and seeking that knowledge becomes meaning. Only God
brings meaning and it can be found in all that glorifies his name.
As I sat down to conclude this blog I cracked the window
to my office, started the coffee pot, checked my emails, and ended the day as I
usually do, but with a new meaning.
 |
| Coffee with Meaning |
