A SEARCH FOR MEANING

“Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”  (John 17:3 NIV)

It is not only those who are growing old, finding the shadows of life lengthening, who are in search of meaning; there is a desire in every human being to find some kind of unity and coherence, some meaning in the diverse experiences of life. All of us instinctively want to find some kind of key that will unlock the secret and meaning of good days and bad, joy and sorrow, youth and old age, sickness and health, life and death. We want some kind of framework of understanding within which we can find perspective, and be freed from the delusion of confusing that which is truly important with the monumental trivia of life. It is, I think, only the overview of faith that can provide for us this insight into life, this meaning of life. As Dag Hammarskjold recalled in his book, “Markings”, “On the day I first really believed in God, for the first time life made sense to me and the world had meaning.” 

-- John Powell in “A Reason to Live! A Reason to Die!”

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