GRASPING FOR THE WIND

By REVEREND TONY ZEKVELD

Picture the action: you grasp for the wind, but you never catch it. It always eludes you. You never feel satisfied, and when you think you’ve attained what you want, you want more. You don’t feel fulfilled on the inside.

Such is the personal pursuit of riches and dreams. I was listening to a talk from a well-known pastor who had this to say: “Our western culture teaches people to find or pin all their hopes, all their dreams, and all their happiness on and in this life. As the saying goes, ‘You need to find your meaning to life in the here and now. You only live once’.”

He went on to say that when you build your life on something in this life, then when suffering comes, it takes away the meaning of your life. The meaning and purpose are so temporary to begin with, that as soon as suffering comes, it’s all lost. This is one reason why many give up on life.

We come to discover that when we try to find meaning in ourselves or in this life, it crumbles. So where do we find meaning to life then?  

Christianity gives you meaning in life that suffering cannot take away, or as this pastor said, “That not even death camps can take away”.

Augustine, a theologian, said it this way: “Only the love of the immutable can bring tranquility”. Immutable means “unchanging”. The love of God does not change. 

And He showed His love by giving His Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sin and to give eternal life to all who believe and find their life in Him. This is a life that continues even after we die. It’s this meaning in life that suffering cannot take away, a meaning which Christ gives. And it gives perspective to this life, in our work, in raising our families, and in all that we do, here and now.

If Christ is the source of your love and happiness, only then “will you be able to have meaning in life that even death camps can’t take away from you”. Jesus says in the Bible, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live”.

No need to grasp for the wind any longer.