What should be the Meaning (of life)?

A student at Georgia Tech asked the following question of Ravi Zaccharias: "You've identified loss of meaning as a problem; so... what should be the meaning?"

His answer (imperfectly transcribed):
"When you're dealing with meaning, I believe meanining needs four components to bring meaning to an individual life...we're living in a postmodernist time where people wonder what "meaning" really means. There are four components to finding meaning in life... (related to childhood) When you are in your years of childhood, the thing that keeps you going is... a sense of wonder about everything you see. But as you get older, you can no longer believe in all the fairy stories; as wonderful as they were, you know they were all figments of people's imaginations. ... In your 20's, the question of Truth becomes supreme, not whether this belief of mine or this experience of mine brings me a sense of wonder, but whether this experience of mine is also based in truth. Truthfulness becomes an important category... Truth in the metaphysical world {must be measured with some logical unit of measurement].... The you come into your 20's and 30's where your commitments are being made and your relationships are being developed, you're looking for love beyond romance, it is a love of relationships... . And finally, you're looking for the concept of security. How do I know that what I believe will ultimately stand the test of time; and is there a life beyond the grave.

What brings meaning is when you can combine a sense of wonder under girded by truth, experiencing the richness of love with the knowledge of security; those four components bring genuine meaning to life. The older you get, the more it takes to fill your heart with wonder; and only God is big enough to fill that heart. ... "


Hear the whole Q & A

now to live the life....

if you're like me --- grew up in church, attended youth group, youth conferences, youth camp-- you probably know myriad praise choruses, some meaningful, some drivel. most were drivel.

i'm not one to support driveling praise choruses but i am caught by the subtle meaning of some that, at first glance, may not appear to be so full-bodied as say, the old hymns. one such song is called "Now to Live the Life" and it isn't very well known, as far as i can tell-- it wasn't widely published on 15644 different praise/worship CD's and definitely never made it onto any of those WOW CD's.

Many are the words we speak
Many are the songs we sing
Many kinds of offerings
But now to live the life

Many are the words we speak
Many are the songs we sing
Many kinds of offerings
But now to live the life

Help us live the life

All we want to do is bring you something real
Bring You something true

Precious are the words we speak
Precious are the songs we sing
Precious all these offerings
But now to live the life

Help us live the life

Now to go the extra mile
Now to turn the other cheek
And to serve You with a life
Let us share your fellowship
Even of your sufferings

Never let the passion die...

Now to live the life...

HOSEA 6.
 1 "Come, let us return to the LORD.
      He has torn us to pieces
      but he will heal us;
      he has injured us
      but he will bind up our wounds. 

2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.

3 Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth."

4 "What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.

5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth;
my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.

6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 Like Adam, they have broken the covenant—
they were unfaithful to me there.

8 Gilead is a city of wicked men,
stained with footprints of blood.

9 As marauders lie in ambush for a man,
so do bands of priests;
they murder on the road to Shechem,
committing shameful crimes.

10 I have seen a horrible thing
in the house of Israel.
There Ephraim is given to prostitution
and Israel is defiled.

11 "Also for you, Judah,
a harvest is appointed.
"Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,