How Can I Live a Meaningful Life?

Intro:

What is the meaning of life? I’m sure that many of us have asked ourselves this question many times before. I know that recent news has once again brought up this question to mind. It is very sad that we have been surrounded by death. Even more sad that it has been young people. People who, it seemed, still had many years left to live. Maybe it has lead us to ask, “Why, God?” Maybe it has lead us to reflect on our own lives; “If I died tomorrow, what would people say? Am I ready to die?” This is a normal reaction to have. Death reminds us that we are human, and our time here is limited.

In fact, Solomon shows us that it is not a bad thing to be reminded of death. He writes in Ecclesiastes 7:1–4 “A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth; Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

Solomon teaches us that death isn’t something to be feared. Death is a part of life. To live is to one day die. We know that this is the result of sin. When sin entered the world, so did death. Death is the separation of our souls from our bodies. We also know that this isn’t the end. Death is the beginning of eternity. Instead of living life for tomorrow, always rejoicing and enjoying the pleasures of this world; we must live life for today, with a sobering reminder that death comes to us all. When I was younger, I used to think, “I still have many years before I die.” Then one day, not long after I graduated from high school, one of my classmates died in a car accident. That’s when I realized that death may be closer than I think. Now that I am older, I have learned to remember that tomorrow isn’t promised.

Although the thought of death may be scary, or uncomfortable, or plain depressing, we have hope. Jesus says in John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” We who have put our faith in Jesus have hope that by faith in Him, we will have eternal life. Life with the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So although death may be a sure thing that is to come, eternal life is also a sure thing that is to come. This is the hope that we have. We no longer have to fear the unknown because God has made it known to us in His word. The Bile is full of passages that speak on life, death, and eternity.

So the question remains, if I know that I will one day die, an unknown day; and if I know that I have the promise of eternal life in Jesus; how can I live a meaningful life?

2 Timothy 4:6-8

Paul has lived a full life. He was called by God to be the apostle to the gentiles. He took the gospel to new places and did it passionately. Therefore, in his final days, he has reflected on what the purpose of it all was. He knew that although his time to depart from this earth was near, that he could depart with no regrets. The Holy Spirit showed Paul what life is all about. So today, we will look at this in order to answer the question, “How can I live a meaningful life?”

1. Life Is Short

Psalm 39:4–5 ““Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah”

This Psalm shows us that Life is momentary:

The global average life expectancy is 73 years. However this is nothing compared to eternity. This is a mere blip when compared to the vastness of eternity.

This life isn’t for forever. It is only temporary.

When we pass on, everything else will remain here.

We can also be comforted that since life is momentary, those of us who remain after someone has pass away will only remain for a short while.

Life is also fragile:

Ecclesiastes 12:6–7 “Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.”

It can be lost so easily. Just like a cord that is untied, or a pitcher that is shattered, anyone can easily die.

The body is a very fragile thing. It needs air, blood, water.

In the end, are made from dust, and to dust we will return.

Nobody knows their time to die:

James 4:13–15 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.””

Tomorrow isn’t promised.

The Bible shows us that there is wisdom in planning ahead. Preparing for the future. Investing. Sowing.

But the truth is that our plans are not up to us. They are in God’s hands.

Living Waters podcast: “Charlie Kirk had a full schedule ahead, but God knew his time was up.”

Therefore, we must live for today!

2. How Do We Measure a Successful Life?

Hebrews 12:1–2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The Bible compares our life to a race. Don’t think of a sprint. It is an endurance race. Like a marathon.

Example of swim meet where I swam 200 meters.

If any of us were to run a marathon, we wouldn’t care about finishing first, the accomplishment is finishing the race.

Same with life. The accomplishment is to finish the race of life while looking to Jesus.

Success in life is not measured in riches.

Matthew 6:19–21 ““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Riches will fade.

Those that don’t fade will remain when we pass on.

Hebrews 11:24–26 “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”

Our life must be spent investing in spiritual treasures.

Success in life is not measured in the scope of impact that we have.

People are made for different callings. This means that they will have different scope of impact. Meaning that they will affect different numbers of people.

Some people are called to witness to the masses, like Billy Graham, or Greg Laurie.

Some people are called to witness to their neighbor.

Not everyone is a Moses. Not everyone is a Paul.

Was Adoniram Judson not successful?

Was Jim Elliott not successful?

What has God called you to do?

Success in life is measured by faithfulness

Hebrews 11 is a chapter full of men and women who were faithful to the calling that God had on their lives. They all had a different calling, but they are remembered for their faith and willingness to answer the call.

So my question to us today is, “what will we do with what God has entrusted to us?”

In Exodus 4:17, God tells Moses “And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.””

This is the rod that was turned into a serpent before Pharaoh.

This is the rod that Moses lifted up and parted the Red Sea with.

God told him to pick it up.

Will you pick up your rod?

1 Peter 4:7–11 “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Let us be faithful to minister the gifts that God has given us.

If you have been called to be a mother in the season, then be the best mother. Disciple your kids into following after Jesus.

If you have been called to be single in this season, then run for Jesus.

If you have been called to Minister to multitudes, then do it with all your heart.

We all have different callings, but we are all called to be faithful.

3. What Is Our Purpose In Life? 2 Peter 1:1-15

Our purpose in life is To Know God

2 Peter 1:1–4 “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

To know the Father is to live.

In Jesus, we find life with the Father.

In Jesus, we find freedom from sin and death.

Only then, can we begin to live.

2. Our purpose in life is To Walk With God

2 Peter 1:5–11 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

To walk with God is to live life with purpose.

He brings fulfillment to our life. Without God, we were constantly looking for satisfaction. Without God, we were in search of fulfillment.

Now we must learn to live this life with Him. Everyday becoming more life Jesus. Everyday witnessing to what He has done.

3. Our purpose in life is To Make Disciples

2 Peter 1:12–15 “For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.”

In Peter’s final time on earth, he was disciplining believers. He believed that it was important to remind them of what God has done. And today, we have his Holy Spirit-inspired words written down as scripture.

We know that to make disciples is our commission.

Therefore, lets go and make disciples.

4. How Can I Live a Meaningful Life?

2 Timothy 4:6–8 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

By being faithful to God’s calling

We must fight the good fight

We must always be willing to go wherever He calls us to go

We must be diligent to labor for Him

We must be ready to defend the gospel.

By making the best use of time

We must finish the race

No matter what happens we must continue running hard for Jesus

This is done by minimizing distractions.

We must focus on eternity

J. Oswald Sanders writes in his book, Spiritual Leadership, “Time lost can never be retrieved. Time cannot be hoarded, only spent well.”

We are only here for a moment, therefore, we must run hard and finish well.

By working with all your might!

Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.”

We must always work to keep the faith. We must labor for the gospel. We must labor to be faithful. We must labor as if there is no tomorrow.

Because when tomorrow comes, and we are with the Lord, there will be no more labor.

We will have entered into His rest.

Let’s live for today.

This is how we can live a meaningful life.

Conclusion

2 Timothy 4:8 “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Our motivation for living a meaningful life doesn’t come from what people will say about us when we pass. It comes from what people will know about Jesus through us. When we come face to face, He will welcome us into His kingdom with open arms saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

So today, will you live for Christ? If you die today, are you certain that you will have no regrets?

May we all be able to say just as Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”