Because God does not want us merely "existing," we must find out what it makes life worth living and learn to walk in life more abundant!

"... I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

We all want to be happy in life, and there are many things that the world says will make us happy. But one look around will tell you that what the world says makes life meaningful isn't enough to stop man's search for meaning.

What is it that gives life meaning? Is it pleasure? Some people think so. In fact, one modern writer suggested that the principle aim in life after age 16 should be to get all the comfort and pleasure you can.

That sort of thinking goes right along with the philosophy of the day, which says "Live and let live. Seek pleasure while you can, because you don't know if you're going to be here tomorrow." Well, I tell you what. You may not be here on earth forever, but you will be somewhere forever - for eternity after you die. And whether you wind up in Heaven or in hell depends on what you do and the choices you make in this life.

So is getting pleasure all there is to life? Let's take a look at this idea in Luke chapter 12:

...The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
(Luke 12:16-19)

Now this story of a certain rich man describes "pleasure" people. They think pleasure is the meaning of life. But notice what God said to the rich man: "... Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" (v. 20).

You can work your whole life just to put together a fortune. But, friend, if that is all there is to life, you will be most miserable. If you think, Man, the rest of my life, I'm going to sit back, take it easy, and just have a party, God is liable to knock on your door and tell you the same thing He told this fellow in Luke 12. God has made it very plain that pleasure is not the essence of life.

But not everyone is seeking pleasure. Other people will tell you that it's education that gives life meaning. Now let me just say that I don't have anything against education. In fact, I believe that every young person should avail himself or herself of the opportunity of getting a college education. It's been said that if you want a good job in this day and age, you'd better have a college education.

So obtaining an education is very important - it helps you achieve and obtain certain goals - but it is not what gives life meaning.

Then other folks think the key to a meaningful life is physical beauty. They torture their bodies with plastic surgery, injections, and special treatments for their skin and hair. But guess what? Your physical appearance is not what makes life good or great. It's not what gives your life meaning.

In Matthew's Gospel, and in other parts of Scripture, Jesus continually talked about the deception of the outward man and all the appearances or fronts that some people put up. For example, He said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" (Matt. 23:27).

The Bible says that it's man, not God, who looks on the outward appearance. God looks on people's heart (1 Sam. 16:7). You see, you can look real good on the outside, but if your heart is not good, too, when you open your mouth and start to talk, everyone will be able to tell your true nature.

Some Christians look good and even know how to make good confessions of faith. But nothing's happening, because it's all outward - it's not coming from the inside. So we know that it is not outside appearances that give life meaning.

Well, then, what does give life meaning? How do we find the true meaning of life? In other words, how can we live a life that is full of purpose - rich and meaningful? The first thing you have to do is have Someone to live for.

I often hear people, "I don't have any reason to live. I don't have anybody to live for." Abundant life comes when we find Someone to live for. But I'm not talking about living for just anyone - I'm talking about the Lord Jesus Christ!

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21)

In the context of this verse, Paul is talking about obeying God's voice, cleaving to Him, and doing His will. Jesus talked about this in a slightly different sense when He said, "If the Son of Man be lifted up, whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life" (John 3:14,15).

The meaning of life is found in Christ. When you choose Christ, you choose life. I have talked to many people who have a lot of earthly possessions. They were worth millions from the standpoint of the world. But I've heard them say, "I don't have anything to live for." Have you ever heard that?

Some of these people end up taking their own life. But life can take on new meaning when we learn that we are to live for Christ. That is the theme of some of Paul's writings - to live for Christ: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21). To die would be to gain for Paul, because he would be present with the Lord. But to leave the world at the time he was writing would have been selfish for Paul to do.

Too many of us are living selfishly. We want only what is good for us, not what is good for others. But we can overcome selfish living when we are truly living for Christ. So the first thing that gives meaning to life is to have Someone to live for. The second thing that gives meaning to life is to have a purpose for living.

What is the purpose for living? Well, according to the Word of God, our purpose is to do the will of God. As we look at the world around us, we see psychiatrists and psychologists trying to figure out man's problems. Many of the leading psychologists of our time have come to the conclusion that a feeling of emptiness and hopelessness is the center of man's problems.

Well, I attended college, but it didn't take me years and years of study to figure that out! If you'll read the Bible, the Bible will tell you that man without God is empty. The reason church offices around the country as well are filled with people who want counseling is that people have never understood that they must live for Christ to do His will.

What is a positive attitude from a biblical perspective? It is an attitude of expectancy grounded in a God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think (Eph. 3:20). The Apostle Paul projected that same attitude when he wrote, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 3:14). He said, "I can do it."

Paul was thinking positively. Well, the Word of God teaches positive thinking. The things that are impossible with man are possible with God (Matt. 19:26). In other words, when you are rooted and grounded in God's Word, God can do in your life exceedingly above all you can ask or think!

Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." That same strength Paul was talking about is available to us today. You've got to think you can before you actually can. You've got to believe you can before you can. It is that simple. Paul said, "I can." Why could Paul say that? Because of Jesus and because of God and His Word.

Some groups call Charismatics to task, calling us "the name-it-and-claim-it" bunch. Well, it's true - you can have what you say. You're not going to have something just because you say it, but if God's Word says you can have something, then you can say it and have it.

A defeated Christian is someone who has a negative attitude. But a Christian with a positive attitude based on God's Word will be happy and doing something for God. He will reap the benefits of working for God. Remember, success comes when we have Someone to live for and a purpose for living.

I preach a message called, "Healing - A Forever-Settled Subject," and in that message, I make this statement, "I have prayed for people to be healed who didn't receive their healing, and some of them even died. But that does not change God's Word concerning healing. Healing is still real."

By the same token, we know that salvation, the New Birth, is God's will for everyone. Yet when the salvation message is preached, not everyone gets saved who needs to be saved. Does that mean that salvation is not God's will for all?

Emphatically, no! Just because someone didn't get saved does not mean that it is not God's will to save. It is God's will to save everyone. If someone doesn't receive to the message of salvation, that doesn't negate the fact that it is God's will to save.

You see, it's all in how you look at it. You can look at it on the negative side and say that healing and salvation are not God's will for all, or you can get on the positive side and speak in line with God's Word. A positive attitude in life will help us persist and persevere in the hard times.

So forget about what the world says will make you happy and remember that life more abundant comes when you have Someone to live for, a purpose for living, and a positive attitude in life. It's in Jesus Christ and the Word of God that we find the meaning of life and the key to life more abundant!

Copyright © Kenneth Hagin Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.