This Sunday we had a guest service with the topic: "Life. What's the point?"
[Or something like that. Can't remember the blurb correctly.]
But man, it was interesting.
Just before Doug, our minister, gave the talk, he showed a Xbox ad which had been banned in England. [Ooh, I know you're curious now... Here we go: Xbox]. The ad shows a baby shooting out of a woman's womb in the hospital room, rapidly becoming older as he hurtles through the sky, growing through the phases of being a toddler, child, teenager, man, old man, till he loses steam and flies KADUMPH into a coffin. The words on the screen? "Life is short. Play more. Xbox"
Brilliant.
And so profound.
So what is the point of life?
Love, sex, money, relationships, fame, drink, knowledge, work, family, glory?
As Doug was preaching on Ecclesiastes, he went through many of those above options as the writer of Ecclesiastes himself had sought pleasure in many of those things. Yet, after each new attempt, he'd come to the conclusion that it didn't fulfill or satisfy him. So what more could Doug do but conclude with "So it seems that life is meaningless then", slam the Bible shut and walk off stage?
And as I was sitting there, as the anxious whispers started up around me as people start wondering if that REALLY was it, I was struck by the clarity of his illustration: We felt uncomfortable at this abrupt ending because somehow we expected more. Maybe it was because we were at a church that we expected answers, but even in everyday life, something inside us cries for a life of meaning. We want answers to our question of 'Why are we here? What's the point? What does it all mean?'
Fortunately, after a few very uncomfortable seconds, Doug finally got up and said: "But luckily for us, Ecclesiastes doesn't end there."
And dare I say, it's because God "has set eternity in the hearts of men" (Eccl 3:11)? Life is short. It'd be silly to delude ourselves otherwise. Yet, we know instinctively that there's more to life. And maybe it's because life isn't it.
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2 comments:
Here's an interesting blogpost I found: http://wittingshire.blogspot.com/2005/02/eternity-set-in-our-hearts.html
Hey Gracie! Sounds like a very powerful sermon! Great Illustration Doug! Maybe I'll have to get the mp3... Yip, been so challenged over the past few weeks about the point of life, what I believe it is and how that should set me apart from those around me... sadly, I dont let it, I always want to blend in and not cause a scene or I just be... but we are commissioned to go and make disciples of all men and to share the point of life with others! EEK! A scary thought, but one not to be walked away from! Especially cause we know it is God's Spirit that so powerfully works in and through us! Praise Jesus! And what a privelege it is that God chooses to use us to share that Good news with others! Thanks for reinforcing this challenge! Love ya
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