Our lives can be confusing at times. There are some days when we feel important. We may have some big dream, hobby, or passion that we are working toward and that we are excited to talk about. On the other hand, there are times we might feel like we’re wasting our time. We may feel like everything in life is futile. Like a breath of air, you can never really grasp it, and before you know it, it’s gone.
It is a common experience to ask, “What is the point of human life?” Every mature human being from every time and culture has wondered about their origin and their destiny. It is programmed deep within us. Our intuition seems to be aware of a time and reality beyond our own. Scientific theories haven’t provided an explanation for this phenomenon. Science also has not been able to demonstrate that animals have any awareness of their origin and destiny like human beings do. That is because our Creator has made humans especially capable of perceiving an aim in life beyond what we can see immediately in front of us. The Bible says, “[God] has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, CSB).
In response to curiosity about their purpose, people can go in one of two general directions. On the one hand, some people choose to ignore their curiosity about the eternal. Instead, they choose to focus on their ancestry, their legacy, or on material things they can touch, see, taste, and experience with their own desires. Inevitably, they realize that all these worldly things eventually perish, just as their own bodies do. The Bible talks about the degrading passions of those people who reject their inward intuition about the immortal God in favor of merely physical things that have no lasting life (Romans 1:18–23).
On the other hand, there are people who want to persist in satisfying their curiosity for the Divine. They are the ones who have a chance of finding the answers they are looking for. That is because it is possible to learn from the Bible that our purpose is not found in worldly pleasures, ambitions, and wisdom. These things are ultimately given by God and are meant to be enjoyed in their own time and place. However, Yahweh God, our Creator, has something bigger planned for us. He has made us for righteousness, glory, and eternal dominion at His side in heaven. He accomplishes His purpose through the work of Jesus Christ, Yahweh in the flesh. We do our part in fulfilling His purpose when we look to Him and walk along the path He has set for us.
Where Might We Look for the Meaning of Life?
You may have considered some of the things that bring enjoyment and fulfillment to your life and wondered if that was part of your purpose. After all, there are aspects of this life that can be quite enjoyable. For example, we can enjoy indulging in food and luxurious drinks. When we have friends and family gathered around a table for a joyful occasion, we can feast, socialize, and find a lot of happiness. If we are fortunate enough to have lavish clothes and a clean, modern home, then we might feel a sense of fulfillment. If we have a successful career that allows us to buy a brand new, shiny car, then that might gratify us. However, if we take any of these pleasures and we make them the center of our lives, then they will eventually become contemptible. Taken to their extreme, pleasures will always become empty. That is why the wise writer of Ecclesiastes says,
“I said to myself, ‘Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.’ But it turned out to be futile. I said about laughter, ‘It is madness,’ and about pleasure, ‘What does this accomplish?’ I explored with my mind the pull of wine on my body... I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them. I constructed reservoirs for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees. I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house. I also owned livestock—large herds and flocks—more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me. All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles. When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:1–11).
So, if the pursuit of pleasures is like striving after the wind, does that mean that we might find true fulfillment in work instead? Much pride can come from the product of our hands and our mind. Humans can accomplish much through focused labor. A farmer can find great satisfaction after a hard day’s work as he’s looking out on his fields and appreciating all the fruit of his hands. An inventor might find fulfillment when he considers all the lives that his invention helped to make better. Civil servants can work hard toward an incredibly important cause for society, and they can feel like they helped change the world. However, if we zoom out far enough in time, we will realize that our work really didn’t accomplish much at all. There are still countless throughout the world who are going hungry and are suffering. There are still wars, famines, and injustices. On top of that, when we consider that at the end of our time on earth, all of our accomplishments will soon disappear and be forgotten. We’ll realize that there is not ultimate fulfilment in work and ambition either. In fact, the writer of Ecclesiastes observed this as well. He says,
“I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. So I began to give myself over to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:18–20).
Human beings will not find ultimate fulfillment in worldly pleasures or work. How about wisdom and knowledge? Certainly, we can find lasting satisfaction in having all the answers, right? It is true that if we live lives like fools, then we will find much sorrow and difficulty. On the other hand, being wise makes life successful and rich. However, all the wisdom and knowledge cannot change the world, and that will make us sad. In addition, the wise man and fool each have the exact same end—death. Again, the Ecclesiastes writer, who at this point is seeming quite depressing, says,
“For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool? Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:16–17).
What is the Conclusion Then?
The Bible is not teaching us that any of these things are wrong in of themselves. Yahweh God, our Creator, has given us these things to appreciate. He wants us to be joyful in our pleasures and in our labors. Above all, we should seek out wisdom because it is better to be in light than in darkness (Ecclesiastes 2:13). The wise teacher clarifies by writing,
“There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand, because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from him? For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:24–26).
Each of these things can be appreciated at appropriate times and in moderation. However, they cannot fulfill us by themselves. Our eternal purpose is not realized in accumulating pleasures, works, and wisdom.
Rather, the point for all human life is to “fear God and keep his commands” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). God has made us for a special purpose (Proverbs 16:4). He has intended for us to be holy and blameless in love (Ephesians 1:4) so that all things work together for good in our lives (Romans 8:28). By being the type of person God has intended us to be, our purpose is fulfilled. Our future then becomes hopeful, and not meaningless, as we look forward to God’s glory in heaven (Romans 2:6–7). By God’s promises, we are looking forward to a life that goes beyond what we currently see and experience physically. When we fear God, we believe in those promises, we revere Him in worship, and we seek to avoid His wrath. Consequently, our lives become molded by our Creator, and our future is promised to be meaningful and everlasting.
Yahweh has not left us alone to accomplish this purpose. We can only have hope of being fulfilled through the work of the Creator in the flesh, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29–30 teaches us,
“For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.”
What this means is that we can be molded into the image of Jesus Christ who lived a perfect, sinless life. We may be justified through Him, and we may be glorified with Him. Jesus suffered and died in the flesh in His time on earth, but He was resurrected through the power of God. Our life is not hopeless and meaningless. We can have that same hope of eternal life in glory. Jesus says of Himself in John 6:40, “For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” The world cannot see God’s purpose by pursuing passions, accomplishments, or wisdom. However, our purpose for everlasting life is “a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory… as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived— God has prepared these things for those who love him’” (1 Corinthians 2:7–9).