#276 Meaning

Christians sometimes wrestle with questions like "Why is Jesus waiting so long to come back?" and "Why does God have most Christians continue living their imperfect (though thankfully slowly growing in holiness!) lives for so long after coming to faith in Christ? My daughter Lanie asked me a variation of the first question earlier tonight. Generally Christians talk about witnessing and evangelism and the growth of the church. I think that's a good answer. I told Lanie that Jesus waiting to return means more people can come to believe in Jesus and live with Him forever. We who love Jesus have time to tell others about Him.

But I think there's another good answer that we can give in addition to that one. Let me explain. I've been preaching from the book of Ecclesiastes for a couple months. The author of this book, who identifies himself with a Hebrew word that means something along the lines of "the Teacher," is on a search for meaning. Again and again he concludes that nothing we humans do on our own can give meaning to our lives. Ecclesiastes argues that everything is meaningless without God. As the Teacher sees it, human life ends at death. All our possessions are lost; all our achievements fade and are forgotten. So nothing is ultimately gained; in the end nothing matters. (Remember that the Teacher is presenting us with life viewed apart from God.)

Here's where Jesus comes in. Jesus comes to save His people from death and sin and misery. Christ conquers death for Christians in His resurrection, guaranteeing eternal life for everyone who belongs to Him. This isn't some sort of otherworldly spiritual life: Jesus promises to resurrect and transform our bodies for eternal life. Our life after death and resurrection isn't completely separate or detached from our life now; in a very real sense it is a continuation of our current life. That's why some places in the Bible talk about Christians already having eternal life.

(Now to be clear, some parts of the Bible also talk about how Christ gives us new life, emphasizing how Jesus puts our old, sinful nature to death and raises our new, godly nature to life. The Holy Spirit makes Christians different than we were before, and when Christ returns, He will change us even more so that we no longer sin. Our life as Christians is never the same as it was before. But we shouldn't lose sight of the continuity. These are our same bodies that Jesus transforms. These are our same souls that Jesus purifies. Jesus saves us.)

I think the fact that our Christian lives continue in God's eternal kingdom is part of why Jesus doesn't whisk Christians away once He leads us to believe in Him. He wants us to see and understand that He is saving our lives. Our lives have meaning because they matter to Jesus. Our long, slow process of growth as Christians isn't a waste. It's moving us toward Christ's goal for us. Everything Christ does in and through His people now carries over into eternity. Everything Christ does in and through us now is a further sign of how much He loves and values us and our lives. In Christ our lives don't end. In Christ our lives have meaning.

Grace and peace,

BMH