(Matthew 7:12)
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
All of us want to live a life of meaning.
"Meaningful" means different things to different people.
For some, it means making as much money as possible or being remembered after they are dead.
Others view a meaningful life as one where they have control over their time, such as a life of travel or in learning and experiencing different ideas and ways of living. Artists find meaning in the permeance and impact of what they create...
"Meaningful" takes on many different forms but regardless of the form, meaning is what drives each of us when we are faced with the multitude of choices in our lives. It is the motivating factor in our striving for careers, hobbies, relationships, etc.
It should be no surprise that there is a plethora of opinions on the subject.
There are seminars and retreats selling ten step programs. Entire sections in book stores are dedicated to self reflection and soul searching. Movies, TV and advertisement appeal to the desire in order to draw us in. Motivational speakers push us to get back on the path...
All of us want to live a life that is meaningful.
While our motivation for searching Gods Word should be to learn about His characteristics, the ultimate purpose of Gods Word being to reveal Jesus, God placed this desire for meaning in our hearts and so, naturally, He addresses it.
His instruction, I believe, is the commandment "do not fear".
"Do not fear" is the most repeated command in The Bible.
While much of The Bible is directed at specific people groups in specific time periods, this command of "do not fear" is deeply personal. It is directed at each of us.
It is broad.
God doesn't just say "do not fear running out of food" or "do not fear getting sick". although these things are included in the command. God broadly says "do not fear."
While the command "do not murder" or "do not lie" is pretty straightforward and encompasses a specific act, "do not fear" is much more intricate and far reaching.
In this command, God is not addressing a specific act but rather a way of perceiving and a posture of the heart.
With this being the most repeated command, you would assume that, as Christians, we would focus the most amount of time addressing it. You would assume that it would be the sin we are most on guard against.
Yet, in reality, it seems to be one of the most neglected commands.
You would never hear someone say "well, I'm just a lying person! That's how God made me." or "I have a propensity to murder. I can't help it." Yet how many times have you heard people say "I am a worrier", as if it is an incurable condition rather than rebellion to God?
To be clear, I am not, nor is God, talking about the emotion of fear.
Jesus felt the emotion of fear in the garden, before He was crucified, when He cried out to God asking "If there is any other way, please let this cup pass from me."
I am talking about the act of fear.
Where as the sinful act of fear would have appeared as Jesus running away from the cross, He embodied, instead, the righteous act of overcoming and acting despite fear, when He said "nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine."
Had Jesus followed every other instruction of God, yet failed at heading this one command of "do not fear"... He would have completely failed in living a life of meaning...
All of us want to live a life that is meaningful.
Knowing that our hearts are "deceitful above all else and desperately wicked" and that "the mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God and unable to follow His commands", why would we "search our hearts" when considering what the most meaningful use of our time would be?
Searching our selfish hearts will only yield selfish desires.
We will spend our lives chasing money, power and people.
A true life of meaning is exemplified in Jesus and explained in Philippians 2:6-11
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
We see this same selflessness in Moses who "despised the riches of Egypt", The apostles who willingly died to spread the Gospel, Daniel who entered a pit of lions rather than stop praying, even Samson pulling down the pillars of the temple in his final act of life.
If we were to ask God to describe a "meaningful life", He would describe one of selflessness.
The opposite of a life of fear.
Where fear says to preserve, selflessness says give.
Where fear says to guard your money, time, empathy, love, and life.
Selflessness says to give these things freely.
It's why Jesus says “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."
He is describing what a meaningful life looks like.
You won't make a ton of money.
You may not get to see all of the national parks.
You probably won't be remembered or have a library named after you.
In the eyes of the world, you will be viewed as a failure, just as the world viewed the cross as failure for Jesus.
Just as the cross was actually the ultimate victory, giving up your life is the ultimate meaning.
So, "do not fear."
Do not look at yourself.
Give up your privileges', humble yourself in obedience and trust that God knows how best to use the life He created and sustains.
If you find any meaning at all in being lifted to a place of honor in Gods eyes, you must give up fear and pick up a cross.