Description

In our last episode we were discussing the importance of having a reason to exist or a meaning in our lives. This is particularly important in our latter years or life can go downhill pretty fast. Without significant meaning in our lives it will be virtually impossible to have hope for the future. Meaning and hope are inseparable as we enter this latter stage of life. One feeds on the other. We will look at four different biblical vantage points that can give renewed meaning in our lives and how this will produce hope as we look to finish the calling that God has on our lives.

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Video Script

Episode 10 Intro: Hope from Meaning

In our last episode we were discussing the importance of having a reason to exist or a meaning in our lives. This is particularly important in our latter years or life can go downhill pretty fast. Without significant meaning in our lives it will be virtually impossible to have hope for the future. Meaning and hope are inseparable as we enter this latter stage of life. One feeds on the other. We will look at four different biblical vantage points that can give renewed meaning in our lives and how this will produce hope as we look to finish the calling that God has on our lives.

Four Key Truths

As we discussed in our last episode, we were created to live from a place of meaning. This requires us knowing why God created us. Without this, life, and even ministry, can become quite meaningless. The reality is that often after years of raising a family, growing a ministry and the general  busyness of life, we can lose sight of what life’s true meaning is. We become human doers rather than human beings.

As we turn the corner to run the last segment of our race, we may discover that we have been busy and running hard, but without focus and direction. This can lead us to disillusionment and lack of hope as we look at our final years of life and ministry. But it is possible to rediscover meaning even at this latter stage of our lives. We never get to a point in our lives that we do not need a sense of meaning.

To help us rediscover meaning in our lives I would like to take a few moments and look at four key truths from which we can re-orientate our lives. These have been called the Two Commissions and Two Commandments.

1. Jesus proclaimed the Great Commission in Matt. 28:18-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” This is likely the core of what we have been engaged with throughout our ministry as we have been discipling others in the faith and helping them to grow. This is all about building his Kingdom and as we saw last time something we never really retire from, though our role may shift and adapt as we age.

2. But there is also a Cultural Commission. In Gen. 1:28 we were commanded to “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” This is our calling to make the world a better place. Though we are not called to make this physical world God’s Kingdom on earth, he’ll do a better job of that by himself. But we are called to live our lives so that others will see a glimpse of what his heavenly Kingdom is really like. Even in Babylon, the exiles were to build lives that would bless the ungodly around them. As we read in Jer. 29, they were to build houses, plant gardens and marry off their children, even while in exile. The purpose was to bless the very nation that held them in captivity.

3. So those are the Two Commissions. But in Scripture we have also been given two overarching Commandments. The first of these is the New Commandment to love each other. In John 13:34-35 Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” This indicates that we should not be known by the size of our ministry or other accomplishments, but rather the depth of our love for each other. This should be the only debt we owe each other (Rom. 13:8-10). Have our lives been displaying this or do we need to reprioritize and focus more on loving others in our lives rather than just doing “mighty” works for God?

4. Finally, there is the Great Commandment that Jesus first gave to the expert of the law, Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matt. 22:36-40). The greatest meaning in life comes from fulfilling this commandment; to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and body, the totality of our being. Through every season of life, loving God is the only constant in our lives that gives us meaning (Gal. 5:6; Eph. 3:17-19).

It is an irony of life that we can be so busy giving to others and pointing them to God and yet not actively pursued God for ourselves. The occupational hazard of ministry is to have substituted being in “love with God” for merely  “working for God.” During this season of our lives it is not too late to re-dig these wells and spend more time with the Lord and pursue him.

The Great Commission of “making disciples” should actually only flow out of the Great Commandant of loving God with all of our heart, not the other way around. We don’t serve others as a substitute to get God’s love. And making this world a better place as described by the Cultural Commission — being fruitful and managing the earth — should only flow from the priority of the New Commandment of loving people. Without this orientation our lives get out of balance by doing things for God rather than loving God and serving the planet rather than serving people.

Before we see how meaning translates to hope let’s consider a few questions:

What is truly important for you? What are your priorities? Is a personal relationship with God something that is top priority and that you are taking time to pursue?

Do we really love those who are closest to us in our lives (New Commandment): “being before doing.” Do you need to reorganize your priorities in order to finish the race with these four commandments in proper balance?

The Need for Hope

As we discussed in previous episodes, the various storms and trials of life, can cause us to lose our hope for the future. This can be particularly challenging as we age. We can even question if God still has a purpose for us. While faith is essential in our spiritual life and ministry, without hope faith is impossible. Actually, without hope in the future we have no reason to exercise our faith.

Paul prays in Romans 15:13, that “the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,” He is the one who gives us meaning and he is the ultimate source of our hope. He is the “God of hope” in every situation and in every stage of life. We may find that challenges in our lives that may not have concerned us much before, may now affect us more. For some, this lack of hope comes unexpectedly and for others it is a growing reality that attacks our soul during our latter years.

Hope is a confidence of a better future which is based in who God is. Having hope does not guarantee we will not have trouble in life, but it produces a confidence that God will be with us. And where he is, there can be no fear. If we are struggling with a lack of hope it is likely that we have lost sight of God’s purpose in our lives. We still may be confident in our eternal home and reward, but we can no longer see his purpose for us in this life.

Fear Not

So often this lack of confidence in the future creates fear in our hearts –perhaps even a fear of the unknown of what will happen in this stage of life. Interestingly, “fear not” is the most frequent command repeated in the Bible. Those who apparently have time on their hands have counted it up and say that some form or “fear not” is mentioned 366 times in Scripture. The Bible records over 200 biblical characters we were fearful, so obviously this command was necessary.  The term “afraid” occurs 200x and the term “fear” over 400x. The obvious point is that you are not alone if you are dealing with fear. We have all been there.

Jesus teaches us to turn our attention to the birds and the flowers, to see how God looks after them. How much more will be look after us (Matt. 6:31-32) as we are worth much more than mere sparrows. Back to my go-to verse from Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil. 4:6-7). Peter follows up with, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Pet. 5:7)

As Hebrews 11:1 teaches, the cure for fear is faith, which is a trust in God’s character and who he is. We grow our faith and gain God’s perspective by spending time with him and maintaining our spiritual life. Driving out fear only occurs as we increase our depth of personal knowledge of God and shift our focus  from the uncertainties of the future, to God’s plan for our lives and our eternal hope. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (Rom. 10:17)

Even when we are in boat with Jesus, if we focus on the wind and waves, fear will be inevitable. I don’t know any other way to not be paralyzed with fear than by switching my focus to Christ. In the storm this is not always easy. Sometimes it requires a dogged determination to spend time in his Word until who he is becomes a revelation to us. Each of us have a weakness in some area that leads to fear. We need to identify this, and then apply God’s truth from his Word to that situation. As Hebrews 4:3 promises, we can then enter into his rest. We don’t strive to enter this peace, but rather receive his peace as we rest in who he is.

Before we continue consider the following:

If you have dealt with fear and a lack of hope in your future take some time to study these Scriptures to gain a new perspective on God’s plan for your life.

Paul’s Experience

Much of the book of Acts focuses on Paul’s desire to get to Rome. Through his various incarcerations and eventual appeal to Caesar, he finds himself on a ship heading to Rome. He felt his God given purpose was to preach the Gospel to the household of Caesar. Yet in spite of being in God’s will, he encounters a shipwreck, a snake bite, holing up on an island for the winter and various other obstacles along the way. While I am sure none of this was a shock for Paul, trouble seemed to follow him, yet this was now happening during the latter stage of his life.

He eventually arrives in Rome, his lifelong dream. But as far as we know,  he spent most of his time under house arrest and the record is not even clear as to if he ever had an audience with Caesar. In some ways when you read the narrative, it seems kind of like a rather anticlimactic ending. We know from the names listed in other passages that some of Caesar’s household had became believers, but it was likely not the way he anticipated it would happen. The most likely scenario was that he continued to share the Good News with the guards who were chained to him daily. (Acts 27:1-28:31)

Yet doesn’t this seem to reflect the realities in our lives? God has a purpose that gives meaning to our lives, but the journey is often quite different than the one we may have expected. As with Joseph’s life things seem to turn out quite different than those early dreams and ideas we may have had. But as we remain faithful, like Paul, God directs our paths and continues to give us meaning and purpose. It is this very meaning that helps us to not give in to fear, but continue to have hope in the future and his plans in our lives.

As we conclude this episode why not,

Take some time to review Paul’s story of getting to Rome (Acts 21-28). What lessons do you learn that can help you in your own life journey.

Well meaning and hope are two inseparable qualities we need in order to finish our race. I hope the last couple episodes have been an encouragement to you as you consider any renewal you may need in these areas during this latter season of your life. In our next episode we want to look at the importance of rediscovering our spiritual life and our first love. In our desire to remain relevant we will discover that our connection with Jesus is vital. Hope you’ll join me again then.