Life

Life is an amazing thing. I’m sure at some point in your life you have pondered that fact, but I’m willing to bet it is not something you think about every day. To be honest, I really didn’t think about it that much until my wife and I found out that we were having our first child, Eden. That whole process of having and raising a child is amazing, if you think about it, because if the truth is told, you have no control over how or when or where it happens. Sure, you can plan for and “try” to get pregnant, but you can’t control when or if that will happen. And, you can take all the necessary precautions, take all the right vitamins, avoid all the things you shouldn’t eat or drink, and still you have very little control over the outcome. And yet, life happens. I remember the first time I realized just how amazing life was. My wife and I went in for our 10-week checkup, which is when you get to hear the heartbeat of the child. That experience was amazing. Even more amazing was the 20-week checkup when we got to do the ultrasound and see little Eden moving around in her mother’s womb. But, the most amazing part of the experience was when my little girl was born. You can have all sorts of opinions and feelings about what it will be like to be a father, but you can’t know what it is to be a father until you hold that little baby in your arms for the first time. I remember feeling that everything that I was, all of my life, every experience that I had, every fear, every joy, every moment of love or pain or sorrow had just been summed up in this 10 lb 2 ounce screaming, beautiful baby girl. My life, in that instance, had been transformed by another life.

            It’s moments like that which make us wonder what life is all about. Sure, there are other moments that can do that: a cancer diagnosis, the death of a loved one, a sudden career change. But, at various times in our lives, we are faced with this most important of questions: what does it all mean? What is life all about? This life that, against all odds and without adequate scientific explanation, continues to thrive and grow, it must mean something. When we are young, we tend to ask, “What am I going to do with this life?” We have expectations of all that we will be. When we become an adult and start having kids or get some years of experience in our careers under our belts, we might ask, “What am I doing all of this for?” Or, “Is this really what life is all about?” At the end of our lives, most people look back and wonder, “What was the meaning and significance of my life?” We wonder if we will be remembered and if our works will have any lasting meaning. No matter what stage of life we are in, we cannot escape the question.

            In the Bible passage I read earlier from Acts 17:22-31, the Apostle Paul is going throughout the regions of what would now be Turkey and Greece, preaching the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. He comes to the city of Athens, which was the capital of the Greek Empire during the height of its power. This is the city where the famous ancient Greek ruins like the Parthenon and the Acropolis are found today. As Paul is passing through the city, he notices that at every street corner along the main road, there is a little shrine to one of the Greek gods. Also, along the way are statues to the greater gods. Up on the hilltop he would have seen temples to Zeus, Athena, Aphrodite, and Apollo. So, Paul makes his way up the hilltop to a place called the Areopagus. This was an open-air forum where the great minds of the day would debate the meaning of life. On the one side sat the Epicureans. As Paul walked up, you could imagine him hearing them screaming to the other side that life was all chance, and therefore the end goal of life was to live for pleasure. On the other side sat the Stoics. You can imagine these Stoics sitting calmly while the Epicureans screamed, and then answering back that the end goal of life was to overcome pain and suffering through the denial of pleasure, and to obtain true peace.

            When Paul walks up, they recognize him to be different, and because they loved to hear new ideas, they invite him to speak. Paul begins to give this masterful speech, and in it he addresses three blind spots that these men of Athens have. He starts by telling them that he perceives that they are very religious. Now, Paul is being sarcastic here, because he begins to point out how he observed on his walk up the hill that they had a statue to every imaginable god. And, just to be on the safe side, they had even erected a statue to an “unknown god”. This was the religious version of hedging your bets. You see, the men of Athens, for all their concern for truth and the meaning of life, had failed to recognize the only God who was the author of truth and life. Sure, they had given lip-service to every god they could think of. But that was all it was, just an effort to appease the god that they believed could give them what they wanted out of life. We want the seasons and the weather to be in our favor, so let’s build an altar to Apollo. We want to have many children and our crops to be fertile, so let’s build a temple to Aphrodite. We want our war efforts to be blessed, so let’s build a statue of Ares.

            Truth be told, most people still practice this kind of religion today. Now, you might be thinking, “Preacher, we are far more advanced than the people of ancient Athens, and we know better than to worship statues that can’t do anything for us.” But do we really? In reality, most people use religion for their own ends. Sure, the names have changed, but the intent is still the same. In reality, most people want just enough of religion to appease God so their lives will go smoothly, or they want just enough of religion to get along with people in society. We are also more like the Athenians than we realize because we too have symbols that define what our lives are all about. Sure, we aren’t building statues or temples to our favorite gods, but I guarantee you that if you gave me a few minutes to walk through the Walmart parking lot, I could tell you what most of the people in the store worship based on what is plastered across their truck windows and bumpers. You’ve seen it, you may even have it. “Salt-life”, “Bow-Life”, “Mud-Life”, “26.2”, “Miller Time”, or whatever. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to fish and hunt and mud-ride. But, for many people, these are not just statements of what they do on the weekend… these are idols. Another way to see that we have idols in this modern world is to look at our bank accounts. Besides basic necessities, where does your money go each month? Or, what is it that you think about most, where does your mind go when it is idle? That, more than likely, is the real god that you serve.

            The second blind spot that Paul points out is the fact that in all of their religiosity, they missed the one true God who defines what life is. Paul explains that this unknown God is the God who made everything. Not only is he the God who made everything, but he is also the God who defines the boundaries and purpose of our lives. This God gives us life and breath and everything. And he does it all so that we might seek and find him. In other words, the meaning of life is not wrapped up in running back and forth between statues trying to appease one god or another. Nor is the meaning of life to get as much pleasure as possible or to live without pain. The meaning of life is found in worshipping and serving the one true God who created all things.

            Finally, Paul points out something that the Athenians didn’t know about. This one thing that they were ignorant of is the fact that this one true God has proven exactly who he is and what his purpose is for us by sending his only Son to live, die, and rise again from the dead. The good news in this is that this only Son of God, Jesus Christ came to give life. John 1:1-4 says, “In the beginning was the Word [that’s Jesus], and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God... In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” In John 3:16, Jesus himself puts it this way, “For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” And, in John 17:3, Jesus says, “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

            Friend, Jesus defines what true life is. In fact, Paul says to Athenians that Jesus is the standard by which all life will be judged. Sure, you can live for the moment, enjoying whatever idol you are serving right now, but that life will never measure up to the true life that Jesus gives. My gut feeling is that at some point, you have asked what your life ultimately means. Even if you haven’t, there will be a day when you do. Those bumper stickers and the things you are dedicating your time and money to, ultimately, they will not bring meaning to your life. Jesus Christ is the only life that can give your life meaning.

            So, how do you gain this eternal life that Jesus speaks of? First, Christ calls you to repent. That means that you turn from your idols, whatever they are, and turn to him. Second, he calls you to trust in the promise that his resurrection holds. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is ultimately a promise that one day he will redeem all of those who believe in him. Today, you can receive him through repentance and faith.