Is There Meaning to My Life?
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
Text: Job 14
I. What will have changed because you have lived?
A. People have longed wondered what the meaning of life is, but I think it more important to consider what meaning there is in your life.
II. What is your life?
A. Perhaps a strange beginning to the question.
B. Your life on this world is brief - James 4:13-14
1. Just traveling through, like a shadow, and without hope in this life - I Chronicles 29:14-15
a. We don’t own anything. What we have is borrowed.
b. There is no expectation of continuing on in this world. We understand that we will die. Charlton Heston once wrote, “The world is a tough place. You’re never going to get out of it alive.”
2. It goes by quickly - Job 9:25-26
3. It lasts only a little while - Job 14:1-2
C. Your life was given to you
1. God made you and I - Psalms 100:3
2. Fashioned by God - Psalms 119:73
3. All souls, all life, belongs to God - Ezekiel 18:4
4. It was fashioned for a good purpose - Ephesians 2:10
III. Why Are You Here?
A. Is it to do as you please?
1. Such pursuits never last beyond the doing - Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
2. They tend to be destructive because the focus is only on self -
B. Is it to personally gain? Wealth, possessions, land, education, etc. - Isaiah 56:11
1. But things have a habit of disappearing - Proverbs 23:5
2. Focus on gain tends to harm others - Jeremiah 5:28
3. And it harms the one pursuing - I Timothy 6:10
4. It can even be deadly - Proverbs 1:19
C. Is it to change the world?
1. But the world cannot be changed - Ecclesiastes 1:14-15; 7:13
2. Things like poverty and world hunger will never be eradicated - Mark 14:7
D. Is it to provide for your descendants?
1. Such often leaves no enjoyment for the one gaining - Ecclesiastes 6:1-2
2. You have no idea if the one you provide for deserves it - Ecclesiastes 2:18-19
E. You’re here to love - Matthew 22:37-40
1. It is not something learned from the physical world - Ecclesiastes 9:1
2. It is learned from our Maker - I John 4:19
IV. Why God Put You Here
A. To glorify Him - Isaiah 43:7
B. To serve Him - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
C. Jesus understood. There is work to do while we are here - John 9:4-5
V. What Gives Meaning to My Life?
A. Contented enjoyment - Ecclesiastes 2:24-26
1. Even when times are difficult and when times are good - Philippians 4:11-13
B. Helping others - Galatians 6:9-10
1. Even when it isn’t appreciated - Luke 6:27-35
2. It is not in vain - I Corinthians 15:58
C. Leave a legacy - Revelation 14:13
1. May people be pleased to have known you - Proverbs 10:7
2. That even those who despise you, still glorify God for your being there - I Peter 2:12
3. Psalm 112:6 - People might forget, but ...
4. God doesn’t forget what we’ve done - Hebrews 6:10-11
D. Leave fruit - John 15:8; Matthew 28:18-20
1. Others who shine out - Philippians 2:14-16
2. A joy to have others join you - I Thessalonians 2:19-20
E. Live a life that has been well lived in service to your king
