Meaning and Purpose

Are you looking for meaning and purpose in your life? Look to the Lord!

“Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities, says the Preacher. Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities! All is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and vainglory).”—Ecclesiastes 1:2 AMPC

Albert Camus found insight in the myth of Sisyphus, a story based on the king of Corinth in Greek mythology. As Camus wrote in an essay on this myth, “The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain.” Then, as it arrived at the top, “the stone would fall back of its own weight.” Then the process began all over again.

This, Camus wrote, was the punishment of the gods, who thought “that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.” For Camus, “the fundamental subject” of this story was “whether life has a meaning.” Camus was influenced by the hopelessness many felt at the conclusion of World War II. He became increasingly disillusioned, expressing these feelings in works that eventually led to winning the Nobel Prize for literature in 1957.

Many people have this same kind of hopelessness. They view life like Sisyphus, stuck in ruts filled with repetitious routines and finding relief only through temporary pleasures and escapes. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes observed many people like this who pursue many things, but in the end discover that their efforts were futile.

But God offers us a life with meaning and hope, without despair.

No matter what you face, don’t give in to hopelessness. Dedicate your life to God, and serve Him! He will give you direction, fulfillment, meaning, and purpose.

Reflection Question: Have you been stuck in a rut lately? How can you move forward?