Finding Meaning in Life

When I was a kid growing up in Iowa, we went on a lot of car trips. The grandparents lived far away, and my parents liked camping. So there were often times that we'd be on the road for 6 or 8 hours in a day. And I remember being really impressed to be able to sit still for that long. One time, though, and I can't remember if I said it as a joke or not, but... We got everything packed into the car, and we got out onto the main road, and then we headed out of town, and then we got on the highway, and we had been on the highway for about 5 minutes when I said those four terrible words....

You know what I'm talking about--

Are we there yet?

I think what makes it so tough for kids going on car trips to sit still for that long, besides a general lack of patience, is that you don't really have a sense of where you're going. The road signs don't help you, and so in some ways you're just sitting in the back waiting for something to happen. And, honestly, you don't pick where you get to go, either.

When we thinking about finding meaning in life, then, we can think about it in terms of a journey. Finding meaning means choosing a destination for your journey. Which, of course, makes a big difference in how the journey goes, doesn't it?

Another way to think about this search for meaning in our lives is to draw from Jesus' analogy of finding a treasure. I'd like to tell you about two parables Jesus used to describe the kingdom of God. In the first one, he tells a story about a pearl. This pearl was so beautiful, and perfect, that it was extremely valuable. Maybe it was the size of a basketball and that's how people could tell it was valuable, but my guess is that it wasn't, but that there was something else about its beauty that drew people. And a man who had been a merchant of precious stones and precious metals and gemstones and jewelry of all kinds his whole life, found this pearl at a sellers market. And the price was outrageous, but he knew that this pearl was what he'd been looking for his whole life, so he sold everything and bought that single, perfect pearl.

Or there's a story Jesus tells about a man who was walking out in someone else's field and he found a treasure. And when he opened up the chest, it was filled with wonderful things. So he ran home and sold everything he had so he could buy that field and own that treasure.

When we think about meaning in our lives, then, we can think about where our treasure is--where we put our time and our energy and our money.

So, if I were you, I might be saying to myself right now, "All right, Amy, what's the most meaningful destination a person can choose?"

Now, seeing that we're in a church, I have to admit a certain bias, which is that as church people, as people who have committed their lives to God, whether through a time of personal prayer, or through our confirmation or our baptism, we believe that a life lived in service to God is the most meaningful possible way to live. Because it encompasses more than the self, more than family and friends, more than our nation. It encompasses the entire creation, this life lived in service to God. This is our chosen destination.

I have another traveling story for you. When I was older, we moved to the suburbs of Minneapolis. And one of those suburbs, Minnetonka, has some beautiful winding roads that wind through some beautiful wooded areas. And the reason I know that is this. I went one time to visit a friend who lived in Minnetonka. And on my way back, I came to a particular intersection where I could either go to the right, which was the way I had come, and then I'd have to go over a highway and around a complicated exit ramp, and kind of loop out of my way to get back on the highway, or I could go to my left. I decided that I'd go to the left, and just take turns in the direction of home as I went, and that way I'd eventually get home.

So I did that. And about 45 minutes later, I found myself back at the exact same intersection facing the same direction. I had gone in a long circle of winding wooded roads. This time I took the way I knew to get home.

There are some things we can draw from this story as we think about journey and meaning. First off, it's sometimes a good idea to go with the path that's already known, even if it seems a little out of the way, at first. But I think this story can also be an encouragement for joining up with others along the journey. Joining with others through regular worship, Bible study, prayer groups, and other ways of taking part in church life, means having travel companions, a road map or sorts, and plenty of examples of both how and how not to act.

Now the Christian tradition has plenty of examples of people who live amazing lives, but there are also those who lacked humility, love, kindness. It’s true, of course, that it’s easy to get distracted along the way, even for well-intentioned people. We may be distracted by wanting to have a sense of control over what happens in our lives or in the lives of other people. We may want to have a sense of financial security, or to have others' respect and admiration--a sense of accomplishment. We may just want people to like us and to have a good reputation. And I don't want to say that any of these things are bad, in and of themselves, but if they pull us away from moving toward God, toward a life of serving God & neighbor, toward our chosen destination, then they are distractions, and we need to let go of them.

I'm going to play a song for you in a minute, and while you're listening, I'd like you to meditate on a couple of questions. The first one is this: if we're going to decide to go in a particular direction, we need to first know where it is we're going now. So I'd like you to ask yourself, what direction am I headed now? Where amd I going? Where do I put my treasure - my time, my energy, my money, my love? What is my destination?

The second question is this: Are you ready to move in a new direction? Are you ready to commit or to re-commit yourself to a life lived in service to God? Are you ready to step out in a new way? Are you ready to commit to something larger than self, family, friends, community, nation, humanity?

I hope you will say yes, because while we are all journeying, while you are searching for meaning, for that sense of something larger than yourself, something deeper, rooted, grounded, God in all God's mystery, in all God's glory, in all God's beauty, is lovingly searching for you. Thanks be to God.

The song is by a band called U2. It's called "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and is about someone who is searching and is on a journey.


I have climbed highest mountain
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you

I have run
I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire

I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I believe in the kingdom come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
Well yes I'm still running

You broke the bonds and you
Loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Of my shame
You know I believe it

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for...