Victor Frankl once said that "it is not our right to question whether or not life has meaning ... rather, life questions us: will you make your life meaningful?"
The lives we live are stories. They have a beginning, a middle and an end. How would you finish the statement - THE STORY OF MY LIFE IS ...? Would you finish it with the word - MEANINGFUL? How does one make life meaningful?
Many people operate under the belief that fate or chance write our stories, but ... what if instead of being observers or bystanders in our stories - we actively join with God who creates the framework - birth and death and an opportunity for relationship with Him and then hands us the pen, typewriter or the laptop to write the rest? How does one live a meaningful story?
Jesus said I have come to give you more abundant life (John 10:10) "More abundant" means to have a superabundance of something - A fullness of joy and strength for spirit, soul and body. Not the stuff of physical or biological life - but a healed, whole and meaningful life. What Jesus speaks about is in contrast to feelings of lack, emptiness, and dissatisfaction.
As we have turned the calendar to a New Year, for the first few weeks of January when we gather to worship on Sunday's we're going to be talking about actively participating with God to write a “FULL OF MEANING” story in 2023.