The Question of Meaning: What is the Meaning of Life?
February 4, 2018

The Question of Meaning: What is the Meaning of Life?

Preacher:
Passage: John 1:1-5

Pastor Kevin discussed two ways to approach the issue of meaning in our lives: (1) the modern approach; (2) the gospel approach.

The modern approach starts out with the assumption that there is no God or that God does not affect our lives. Then, the inevitable conclusion is that we are just an accident in the universe; and therefore, there is no meaning whatsoever. However, because it is difficult live without meaning, this approach seeks to create meaning. But, Pastor Kevin discussed a couple of problems of this approach: (1) it is not intellectually honest because at the end, there is no meaning (at the end, there is no point to it); and (2) a created meaning of life is not durable because suffering can often destroy the meaning. So, for example, if the romantic love in your marriage is your meaning of life, and if your marriage falls apart, this would destroy your meaning of life.

The gospel approach says that Jesus is the meaning of life. In John 1:1-5, John tells us that Jesus is the Word, and in the original language (Greek), it is Logos. The word for Logos is where we get the word logic; but it means more than that; it means reason for or meaning of life. Ancient Greeks debated about what the Logos of life is. It is in this context that John declared that Jesus is the Logos of life! The Logos is not a philosophy or an idea; it is a person. This means that Jesus is the meaning of life.

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