Meaning from Above or Below

As a member of the human species I long for meaning and significance. I’m no different from any other human being. Part of what make me so astonishingly human is my perpetual search for meaning--in my relationships, in my work, in my experiences, in my worship, in all of life. However, when I begin my quest for meaning quite apart from God, the inevitable outcome of such a quest is meaninglessness. This is precisely the conclusion that Solomon, arrived at in the book of Ecclesiastes. Qoholeth, elsewhere referred to as “The Teacher,” begins by observing his world “from below,” a broken and fallen world at best. His laboratory admittedly was limited for he only took in and considered what was “under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9,14) and what was “under heaven” (vs. 13). Like many of us, Solomon commits a common human error. His starting place to discover meaning is “from below” rather than “from above.”

Every human experience, by very definition, is limited. Everyday I confront the reality of my limitations: limitations of time, of knowledge, of energy, of money, of resources, of pleasure, of freedom and much more. Human existence is intrinsically limited and limiting. I commit a serious error when I seek meaning from a starting point “below.” Theology from “below” is depressing, limiting and ultimately full of despair. Theology from “above” brings hope. Perhaps that’s why the Bible begins with these familiar words, “In the beginning God...” (Gen. 1:1). There is no attempt to prove God’s existence. His existence is assumed. Even the well-known critic of Christianity Bertrand Russell conceded, “unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.”

When our search for significance begins without God, meaninglessness is the natural and logical outcome, simply because the search begins “from below.”

Fortunately, Solomon does not end up anywhere close to where he started. By the end of Ecclesiastes he arrives at an enormously meaningful, but different conclusion:

“Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (12:13)

Solomon reminds me to make God the object of my search instead of meaning because ultimately when I discover Him, I discover meaning too.

S t r e t c h e d

originally posted on my old blog on April 14, 2008