The life of meaning
The next time Christ’s feet touch the earth, the Mount of Olives will split from east to west (Zech. 14:4). Nevertheless, it was His first coming that was truly earth-shaking, for it divided not a mountain, but time, eternity, heaven and hell, the saved and the lost. No man, no celebrity, no leader has changed the world like He has. But why should we expect anything else? This was no mere man walking the streets of Israel. This was Immanuel—“God with us”!
We will never exhaust the reasons His life was so effective, but Galatians 4:4 lists a few.
The time of His coming.
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son…” All of history had been orchestrated in order to bring about this very event: the incarnation of the Son of God. He came at precisely the right time.
The manner of His coming.
“…God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law…” Here we see both the divine and human natures of our Lord Jesus. Further, we learn something of the place He took: “under the Law.” He fulfilled the Law so that we could live under grace.
The purpose of His coming.
“…to redeem them that were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” His was no accidental greatness. The Lord Jesus came with purpose, and He was completely aware of it at every point during His earthly ministry—at His conception (Heb. 10:5), in His youth (Lk. 2:49), during His ministry (Jn. 4:34), and in His death (Heb. 12:2). That purpose fulfilled, He could say, “I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do” (Jn. 17:4).
What of us? Our heavenly Father has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). One of those blessings is a life worth living—the life of Christ. In stark contrast to the lost around us, we have the privilege of living lives of purpose. We sometimes ask: Will what I’m doing right now matter in 100 years? But we might ask an even more pointed question: Will what I’m doing right now even matter tomorrow? Wouldn’t it be a shame if the citizens of heaven had the same goals in life as those who have no hope beyond the grave: a good education, a decent job, a blissful family life, a comfortable home? Those might be understandable desires, but shouldn’t we also strive for something further? Something deeper? Something higher?
It is too easy for us to coast through life, occupied with passing needs and pleasures but giving only scattered thought to why we’re here and what we’re accomplishing for eternity. When was the last time we stopped to consider whether our intentions to serve Him are, one day after another, being forgotten or postponed? Shouldn’t we be humbly asking that question every day?
Why are we here? What do we want to accomplish for the Lord in whatever time we have left? It won’t happen accidentally. Let us learn the discipline, joy, and reward of the life of purpose. Let us devote daily, deliberate, persistent thought, prayer, and effort to living for the One who never lost sight of why He had come. Let us walk in the footsteps of the Master that we might glorify God on the earth and finish the work He has given us to do.