The Meaning of Life...?

And the meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything is… ???

I’ve been reading this book on worldviews lately, and it’s made me think about the meaning of life. What's the point? Does it serve any purpose?

Unfortunately I am not going to give you a definitive answer, because everyone must make that journey individually to decide what his or her purpose is.

As they say, “Life is what you make of it”.
 
But read on :)

Firstly, let’s take a look at Nihilism.

 I think we may occasionally adopt a weakened version of this worldview at a subconscious level when going through a period of doubt.

“Nihil” is Latin for “nothing”. It is the philosophy of “no meaning”. It assumes that life has no purpose. Life is a series of capricious events. What a depressing viewpoint!

Yet many people adopt a diluted version of that. 

We are "products of evolution" and must live, perpetuate our species, and then die. This is not Nihilism explicitly; it blends in with atheistic and/or evolutionist views. People who adopt this worldview (in an extreme sense) live for pleasure, because there is nothing else to live for except satisfying personal desires.

James Watson, a co-discoverer of DNA’s double helix structure said this at a lunch given in his honour:

“I don’t think we’re here for anything; we’re just products of evolution. You can say, ‘Gee, your life must be pretty bleak if you don’t think there’s a purpose,’ but I’m anticipating a good lunch.”

I find this devastating. We live for… what?

Here is a quote from “Why You Think the Way You Do”, by Glenn S. Sunshine.

“What … thinkers have in common is an uneasiness about modernity, a recognition that its description of the world and its explanation for life are incomplete and unsatisfying, and a recognition that society needs to move beyond bare rationalism if it is to survive.”

–page 180

Rationalism is: “The principle or habit of accepting reason as the supreme authority in matters of opinion, belief, or conduct”. (Dictionary.com)

There are so many things people will search for meaning in, because deep inside, they cannot content themselves with a meaningless existence. Nihilism. It's too awful to believe in its entirety!

Glenn S. Sunshine describes this as “a recognition” that modernity’s description of life is unsatisfying.

As a result, what do we do?

We seek fulfillment. With fulfillment in life comes the desire to live.  People want to live because life holds something for them. This is how society “survives”.

And as much as people may deny this desire’s existence, it is there. We fill it with all types of things.

A few broad categories: hobbies, friends, partner(s), family, drugs, sex, religion, God, entertainment, education, occupation, pleasure, working for/supporting a charity…



Here is the conclusion this drew me to.

This thing called "Life"? It has a purpose. If it didn’t, you would not feel the urge to find meaning in life. You would be content with a Nihilistic viewpoint.

Without the will to live, people die. If you are alive, (which, presumably you are, if you’re reading this) then there is something inside you - that you may not see - compelling you to live. There is a hole, a vacuum that is crying out to be filled. 

A purpose.
 



This life is not an accident.

It is also not a “result”.
 
Life is a thing of itself, created for itself.



If God has given you this life, what are you going to do with it? And are you going to explore your giftings and look at all of the possible reasons you have been put here, as a gift to others, as a gift to family, as a a gift to the world, and finally, as a gift to God Himself?



A gift has been bestowed upon you.

Be careful what you do with it, and do not take it for granted.