Chris Howlett

What Is the Meaning of Life?

 
My message Road of Intellect: Christmas Road Trip, part 3 was about affirming people who have been on an intellectual journey, asking questions about faith. God does not ask that you turn off your brain when you walk into the doors of the sanctuary. To the contrary, as the architect of our amazing intellect, God's desire is that we avail ourselves of the amazing capacity we have for reason and scientific inquiry.

Charles Wesley was a gifted poet and hymn writer. Some question whether the Methodist Revival in England in the 18th century would have gone anywhere without Charles' music. In the quote above he longs for the time when knowledge, the expanding field of human intellect, would join forces with a thriving piety, a people dedicated wholly to serving God's purposes. Basically, he wanted Christians to use their brains!

I don't want to rehash the issues raised in the message, you can go online and listen or download when it gets posted. What I want to do is explore another question. Questions are good. The first action the magi took upon observing the star must have been to ask a question: "What does this mean?" Questions sometimes lead to answers which often lead to more questions. The most fundamental of all questions is the existential one: Why do I exist?

Libraries are full of volumes dedicated to this question and even dedicated to the question of why we ask questions. Philosophy is one of those disciplines that continues to grow in volume and complexity with each passing generation. In our post-modern times, philosophy has become a kind of king of disciplines in which all questions lead back to fundamental questions philosophy is asking. But there is no more fundamental question than that of existence. Why am I here? What is the meaning of life if there is any meaning at all?

Immediately I am thinking of what the response of some of my good friends might be to this question. They might say something like, "Oh, boy, you ask too many questions." Or, "That's the problem with education, you get a little and then you're basically useless!" These are well-meaning friends, and at the end of the day, they may be right!

But it doesn't stop me from wondering.

For one who is committed to Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord of the universe entire, this is an important question. For if God was willing to sacrifice his Son for human life, then human life must have meaning, a meaning that is far beyond simply existence as a random conglomeration of nucleic acids.

The authors of the Westminster Catechism gave a relatively simple answer to this most complex and confusing of questions: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." I really like this, however, it is not a logical answer. The question reads: "What is the chief end of man?" The question assumes one answer. Their response, however, posits two answers: glorify God AND enjoy God. Now, it might very well be that to glorify God implies that I will enjoy God, or that enjoyment of God will ensue, but that wasn't the question. The question was about what the singular goal, end, or purpose of man (humanity) is.

I do not have the time to write, nor do you probably the time to read, a full blown argument about what I believe to be the meaning of life, but I do want to summarize my thoughts based on a bunch of the reading I have been doing for my dissertation, particularly, the theological reading.

The meaning of life is simple. It is, to say in one word, love. Humans were created to be loved and to love. Period. That sums up the entirety of the Old and New Testaments. It also is a very nice and neat restatement of all the theological reading I have ever done. God is love. This is what makes up God's very being and personhood. God is Trinity. The community of relations between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is being extended to include all of God's creatures and it is in this relating, to God and thus to one another, that life finds it's highest meaning.

Love. This is what gives life meaning. This is meaning. We are in relationship with God whether we realize it or not. The goal of evangelism ought to be to help people awaken to the reality of their true selves and to discover the joy and hope found in knowing they are loved.

Maybe John Lennon had it right after all, even if he didn't understand the implications: "All you need is love."

Christmas Road Trip

Rev. Jim Robinson and I came up with this sermon series idea while we were on a recent retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky. The genesis was the old road trip movies featuring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, like "Road to Zanzibar" and "Road to Morocco." The only thing the series has in common, however, with these films is the idea of a road trip and the name "Road." Although we worked on the original idea together, each of us has taken it in a little different direction.

Every person takes a different journey to discovering Jesus. The journey of curiosity is, like the shepherds of the second chapter of Luke's Gospel, a road of wondering if what you've heard about Jesus is true. People who have heard from friends that Jesus is the hope of the world and want to find out more are the spiritually curious.  They come to Jesus wanting to see for themselves. They are traveling the Road of Curiosity.

The Road of Obedience is the road taken by the angels. They were God's messengers, doing the bidding of God. People who grow up with a church background often come to Jesus on the road of obedience because they have a religious upbringing. There is both baggage and luggage on this road. Baggage represents some of the negative stuff we carry with us that we might want to leave behind, while luggage is some of the good things we learned along the way that will continue to serve us well in the future.

The Road of Intellect was traveled by the Magi, the wise men from the East. They were scholars and they came by way of asking questions. We see the star, but what does it mean? Who is this king? Why is he king? The intellectual journey of the Magi ultimately led them to a posture of worship. Jesus definitely does not ask you to check your brain at the door of the church. If you're traveling the road of intellect, bring your questions.

Joseph and Mary were traveling the Road of Desperation. They were homeless, had an "unplanned" pregnancy, were heavily taxed by the government, and most certainly were shunned by others due to their non-traditional arrangement. People on the road of desperation come to Jesus when they hit rock bottom. When the only way to look is up, oftentimes people see Jesus.

Jesus himself was journeying by way of the Road of Sacrifice. The sacrifice he offered was the sacrifice of God becoming human, the Incarnation, and the sacrifice of his life for the sins of the world. Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save the world by the greatest sacrifice of all times.

Christmas Road Trip is going to be an exciting journey as we explore the Christmas story from a little different perspective. Check it out at www.christchurchlex.com.

Real Holiness

I've been sharing a series of messages at Christ Church titled, "Church for Real People." The main focus of the series is the realness of the people to whom Jesus reached out, and the amazing prospect that Jesus is interested in real people, not just "religious" people.

Religion is more about rules. Jesus is more about relationship. Religion is mostly concerned with what you're forbidden from doing. Jesus is more concerned with what he's calling you to do, like loving your neighbor as yourself. Religion encourages self-righteousness. Jesus encourages humility.

The basic point is that we can't earn our way into God's favor. God already favors us, we just need to figure that out.

Now, some folks might accuse me of antinomianism. [Look it up.] I'm quite far from it. As a matter of fact, I believe that when you get real with God, admit you need his grace, and receive his grace, that you will never be the same again. However, simply trying to imitate the good works of someone else won't do it, because your heart will not be changed.

I believe in real holiness. Not the kind that says you must dress a certain way, avoid a narrow 19th century-derived list of so-called vices, and learn to speak Christianese. The holiness the Bible teaches is quite different. It is a holiness of grace.

You see, to live a life of grace, I have to receive grace. When I truly receive grace and understand that my most fundamental identity is Beloved Child of God, then my whole life is altered. I want to live differently. I want to please God, not because of some benefit I might receive, but in response to the love I have already received. Motivation is the key.

If I can't be real with God, others, and myself, then I will never experience the holiness God planned for me, and that's a bit of a scary thought considering what the Bible says in Hebrews 12:14: "Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Wow! I need holiness!

Try this on for size: Holiness, real holiness, is about wholeness. It is being the person created you to be, not being someone you're not. Not squeezing into a religious conception of what it means to be a Christian. It's being who you are. Thomas Merton, one of the greatest spiritual writers of the twentieth century wrote: "For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and slavation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self."

The task of the Holy Spirit in leading us into a deeper experience of holiness is leading us into a deeper experience of living out our true self: a child of God.

The Times, They Are A Changin'... I mean since this morning!

Happy Relationships

The quality of our relationships determines a big part of the quality of our lives. Of all the contributors to personal happiness, relationships may be the most important one. Happiness is more than a fleeting feeling or a simple emotional high. Happiness is a deep sense of life satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy. Happiness is what God designed us to experience.

The message from this Sunday, Wired to Connect, we focused on the fact that part of being a human being, part of being a person created in the image of God is to be a person with a tremendous capacity for relationship. Our very being is expressed through the relationships in our lives. The first and most important relationship, the one that gives energy and meaning to all my other relationships is my relationship with God. Jesus Christ gave himself to extend the relational love he enjoys with the Father and the Spirit to us. We want to live out the love of God in our love of one another.

So, how can my relationships be improved? How can I move the center of myself off of me and stop isolating myself from others, and instead, focus on how I can share love with people, and to serve the purpose of God in my life? I want to share some brief relationship pointers:

1. Receive love, yourself.

    The Bible teaches you to love your neighbor as you love yourself. If you don't love yourself, you're not going to have any love to give to your neighbor. Know that you are a child of God, worthy of the love of God, and worthy of love from yourself. You are a person of value and worth and you have much to offer others.

2. Ask every day, "How can you encourage those around you?"

    If I begin the day moving the central focus off of me and onto others, I will be more prepared to see people as individual persons worthy of my love and care, and I will be more willing to encourage them. You would be surprised, first, of how much others need your encouragement, and how well they respond when you offer an encouraging word.

3. Watch your categories.

    It is the human condition to categorize persons according to socioeconomic level, race, gender, education, job status, etc. We pigeonhole people into a certain category so it simplifies our lives and informs how we treat people. A guy in a nice business suit will almost always be better receieved and treated than someone who is unshaven wearing worn-out old clothes. God's love is expansive and knows no limits. Seeing all persons as worthy of love because they are created in the image of God will radically change how we treat others.

4. Let go of past hurts.

    Life hurts sometimes. If you give yourself in relationships, you will be hurt eventually, and most of us have already experienced the pain of broken relationships. Forgiveness is costly, but incredibly freeing. Oftentimes, most of the time, the main person we hurt by our lack of forgiveness is ourselves. The greatest cost of unforgiveness can be the lack of intimacy and joy we experience in future relationships due to our lack of freedom relating to others. Giving God our hurts enables us to experience healthier, life-giving relationships.

5. Make your relationship with God your priority.

    There is one person who you can count on absolutely. God. Everyone else can and will disappoint you from time to time. God is absolutely dependable. God also enables and empowers you to live a life of grace and service for others. If I am in a strong relationship with God, it frees my to give myself more fully to my spouse, to my children, and to my friends. Knowing the love of God empowers me to share freely my love with others. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of a humble, generous, and loving person. he is our example for relationships.

Life really is all about relationships. God created us so that he could be in relationship with us, extending the love of Father, Son, and Spirit to all people. Unfortunately, some people reject this love and isolate themselves from the ultimate source of happiness and peace. Don't be that kind of person. Receive the love of God so you can give your love freely to others.

The Power of the Mind

On September 25, 1942, Viktor Frankl, along with his wife and parents were shipped to the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in what is today the Czech Republic. The Nazis allowed him to function as a doctor for a while, utilizing is psychiatric training to help prevent suicides among his fellow prisoners. In 1944 he was shipped to Auschwitz, then to Turkeim Concentration Camp. His wife was shipped to Bergen-Belsen, where she was killed. His parents ended up in Auschwitz and were killed there.

Along with his own incredible suffering and loss, Frankl observed the misery and pain of his fellow concentration camp prisoners. In order to give his life meaning, he began to develop a series of lectures he planned to give after the war and his release on how different people coped with the severity of their physical and psychological conditions. It was his sense of purpose in the future that enabled him to live in hope in the midst of inhuman suffering.

Some people merely survived. Others gave up all hope and died. There were a few, however, that maintained a sense of hope about the future and it was these few that caught Frankl's attention. What he observed about these people led him, eventually, to write a book claiming that humans have been endowed by God with an amazing power, the power to choose. In his book, Man's Search for Meaning , he observed:

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

You have certainly heard the saying, "mind over matter." Generally, when this saying is used, it is referring to the mind's capability to change or influence various parts of the human body. While much is still left to learn about the mind's ability to influence sickness and health, it is certain that the mind has power to determine it's own happiness. You have the power to choose. If people in concentration camps can choose to be caring, loving, hopeful, and generous, then we who live in the most prosperous and blessed nation in the history of humanity can choose to be positive and happy.

The problem is that so many people are not happy. We have all our basic needs met, abundantly, but we tend to be dissatisfied and wanting more. Some speculate that our prosperity is actually a detriment to happiness because when you live in a place where very hard work is required to just survive physically, your energy and effort is expended on survival and you have little time or energy left to reflect much on your condition. The mind that is fully occupied tends to be happier. Once you have a society that is prosperous and pampered as ours is and people have so much disposable income and extra time on their hands, they begin to think about what it is they don't have and start wanting more and more, growing increasingly dissatisfied and frustrated.

God definitely wants us to be happy. The question is, do I want to make the changes, in my thought-processes that will help me experience the happiness God desires for me? The Bible teaches us: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." God calls us to renew our minds by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. God's joy is a present and possible reality for each person alive if we will only allow ourselves to experience it by choosing to think more hopeful, blessed thoughts and adopt a more positive mindset. We have the power to choose. Our minds are amazingly capable of altering our reality and our feelings about our reality.

Happiness Desired

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” – Aristotle

According to Aristotle, the purpose, aim, the very meaning of life is happiness. From my life experience and through eighteen years of serving as a pastor, I am thoroughly convinced that everyone, I mean everyone, wants to be happy. By happy, I don't mean simply the fleeting moments of silly and light-hearted feelings we might experience laughing at a joke or seeing a comedic movie, though these things are certainly encouraged. What I mean by happiness is a deep sense of contentment and joy. We are driven by our desire for happiness. It informs every decision we make, from the smallest and seemingly insignificant to the most important and impacting of our lives. Happiness is the ultimate desire of all humans.

We began a new message series titled Designed for Happiness this past Sunday and the response has been pretty incredible. I think we're touching a strong sense of need in the lives of people. (You can check out the messages here). This week, we looked at Jesus' purpose statement in John 10:10: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." This is a rich verse. I want to break it down a little further here than I had time to do in the message Sunday.

Life

Jesus juxtaposes himself with the "thief" whose desire is to "steal and kill and destroy." The context is a pastoral one, both before and after, Jesus is using shepherding metaphors and the word translated as "kill" reveals this context even further, as the word "slaughter" is more appropriate. The thief desires to slaughter the sheep (us), however Jesus comes to give life.

There are two basic words for life in the New Testament. One is bios. Think "biology," the study of life. The word bios has to do with the most basic meaning of life, something, a tree, a frog, an amoeba is alive. The other word for life, the one Jesus uses here, is zoe. You may have heard of this word being used for a girl's name. It's a beautiful name because it layers several more meanings on top of the simple life that is communicated by bios. Zoe is the word used in the New Testament when the writer is speaking of "eternal life." It is life that is invigorated and animated by God. It is the life one enters when one enters into a relationship with the life-giving, life-sustaining God. This is the kind of life Jesus gives, it is life with meaning, life with God, life eternal.

Abundant

Abundant life is the kind of life provided by Jesus. Life is meant to be enjoyable. So many people are merely surviving, forgetting that life can be meaningful, hopeful, and joyful. Circumstances weigh us down, unmet expectations disappoint us, and we find many of our efforts at grasping for happiness lead us to the exact opposite: emptiness, sadness, and misery. But this is not life as intended by God. God the Father, through Jesus, and empowered by the Spirit, offers abundant life.

The word translated as "abundant" really means "superabundant." It carries the connotation of having far more than enough, way more than you could possibly need. This is life overflowing. An abundant life is a life that is absolutely filled with goodness, it is life unlimited. It is, in a word, happy. It is a life many miss for all kinds of reasons, reasons I spoke about Sunday and will speak more of in upcoming Sunday messages.

Jesus came to give us an abundant life. So, how do I live an abundant life? Well, you'll have to show up on Sunday, listen online, or come back to the blog in the coming weeks. Until then, may God's peace, mercy, and love fill your life.

Back to the Books

This past week we started a new series of messages, Back to the Books. With schools up and running again, and with me being in Wilmore for the Beeson Pastor Program, I thought it might be a good idea for us as a church to "go back to the books," the Bible, that is. The word "Bible" comes from the Latin biblia sacra, meaning "holy books." We want to get back to the books so we can revisit who we are and what we are about as a church.

There are over six billion Bibles published and in print in the world. A good number of those are in English. The Bible is the most popular book in the world and the most popular book in North America. I wonder, sometimes, if it is among the least read? Then there's the problem of a lot of the people who do actually read it, read it through the distorted lens of religion and lord it over those who don't.

The Bible is the Word of God. It "is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV). We come before the Word to be examined and used by it, not vice versa. But if you're not reading it, or if you're reading it with a religious agenda, you will never benefit from it nor will you be a benefit to the Kingdom of God.

If you're reading this in Lexington, Kentucky, I invite you to a new Bible Study I will be leading beginning 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 16th at Christ Church, on the corner of Man 'O War and Harrodsburg Road. The study is called "Through the Bible," and in eleven weeks were going to get the eagle's eye vantage point, the big picture, of the whole story of the Scripture and how God's plan of redemption and restoration is working itself out in our world and how we can be a part of it.

The Home Stretch

Today was the last day of our class, "Biblical Interpretation for Church and Life," taught by Dr. Ruth Anne Reese. Five days of all day in class with assignments at night. It was a great class, though. Part of what she did was walk us through 1 Peter, verse by verse, interpreting a rather difficult little book, revealing her method of Biblical interpretation. That was pretty cool. I am inspired to dig deeper in my sermon preparation.

The rest of the week will be spent polishing up the first chapter of our dissertations, a meeting about assignments in the leadership class, professional development meetings, and one more session of the dissertation class. This year has been brutal. They told us it would be. There was not a single day in the last three weeks that was "free." And not only were there no free days, but the days were completely filled, from morning to night. The Houston trip was exhausting, but exciting. The next three days will be the lightest ones so far. It has been incredibly enriching, however, both intellectually and spiritually. It has also been challenging in our thinking about the church, the Bible, and leadership in the church.

Church IMMERSION, cont.

Sunday, the Non-Resident Beeson Pastors and several other pastors from Colorado and Ohio attended worship at three different churches. Below are my thoughts on each one... later, I'll post some pictures.

Lakewood: Joel Osteen.

We rolled up at about 8:00 a.m. for their 8:30 service at the Compaq Center (or former Compaq Center, not sure how that works). Needless to say, the place is huge. We were greeted at the door by someone, not sure what his job is, who ushered us to the ushers, they took us down to the floor and seated us on the fourth row. I was right in the middle. The music was loud, I mean loud! The band was amazing, a huge collection of professional musicians and singers. The style??? I guess you would say it was a fusion of different styles. Several of the songs were familiar, others were obviously written in-house as they reflected the main themes of Joel Osteen's positive, lift-you-up theology and message. Joel delivered an excellent sermon consistent with his overall message that God is on your side and wants you to experience the best and he wants you to influence others with your positive attitude (a little more nuanced than that, but not much). The service was long... about an hour and forty-five minutes. The overall experience was very positive, no pun intended. The volunteers and congregation were very, very warm and welcoming. We really got the sense that we were wanted there.

Windsor Village UMC

Kirbyjohn Caldwell, the senior pastor, was on vacation, and their youth pastor was preaching at the service we attended, the noon service. WVUMC is the largest UMC in the U.S. Over 10,000 people are in attendance every weekend. Their service is held in a huge "gymnatorium." The church is majority African American and this is reflected in the music, call and response preaching style, and length of service, about one hour and forty minutes. The men's choir led the music, along with their band, who were seated off to the side, really kind of hidden away. The music was great. The men's choir was really amazing as they were led by a few soloists, two of whom were actually women (not part of the choir, but there to lead a couple of the songs). The youth pastor's sermon was about praise, based on Paul and Silas' experience in the Philippian jail. The service was very high energy and engaging. The congregation was very involved. You could not use the word "passive" about anything concerning this service.

Ecclesia

Whiplash. From the earlier two services, you really couldn't experience anything more culturally distant. This is a large church that reaches twenty-something, mostly white, college and young professional crowd, in a "cool" part of downtown. The service is muted, along with the lights. Their band had a guitar, bass, drums, and acoustic guitar. The songs were mostly slow and introspective. There's a coffee shop attached to the worship space, and the worship space also serves as an art gallery. The message was given by one of the secondary preachers on staff and was a little disorganized, although his main point was pretty clear: use your youth to find out what God is calling you to be and do. They had an infant dedication and they serve communion every Sunday. The place was pretty packed at this 5:30 p.m. service and they also have two morning services, all identical.

Well, it was quite an experience and I need some time to process everything and think about how God is working in all these different environments. One clear commonality to everything is that the leadership has clear vision about what God is calling them to be and do. That one take away is definitely important.

Check back for pics and more, later.