If you imagine every generation of humanity as if they were ocean waves breaking on a shoreline, each one cresting and then washing ashore leaving behind its contributions for the next generation to either add to or remove — only to finally be caught in the undertow of history . . . and forever consigned to the past. This may strike you as carelessly unrelenting, if not altogether pointless and meaningless. This is likely because, on this scale, life seems fatalistic and dispassionately impersonal – which is not normally the way we imagine how true meaning should take shape. In this regard, we think of meaning as being far more personal . . . more relational.
At my age, I’m very much aware that my generation has all but played out, which is not to say that there is little to do or contribute, on the contrary – the point of growing older, and hopefully wiser, is to offer a humble perspective to the coming generations about where true meaning resides. Because at the crest of the wave the careless bravado of every generation, convinces itself it can create its own meaning out of thin air – only to discover in the ensuing circuitous decades . . . that’s not how meaning actually works. Because any meaning you can pronounce into existence will only ever have the significance your finite mind is capable of manufacturing . . . and nothing more.
Over the years I have had the honor and privilege of officiating a number of weddings. On each occasion, in my brief homely, I place specific emphases on the sacramental nature of the ceremony – pointing out that marriage isn’t merely a legal matter, or even an innocuous religious exercise, but rather a significant moment in time where the meaning of life is being mediated. Intuitively everyone attending brings some expectation that something meaningful will occur, given that a wedding is a singularly unique relational event – as a hopeful celebration of the promise of unity. But it is the sacrament of God’s presence and blessing that actually gives marriage the deeper transcendent meaning we long for most . . . whether we know it or not.
Again, intuitively we know that true meaning must come from somewhere beyond us, somewhere out beyond the horizon of the waves rolling into shore. A transcendent source that knows the number of grains of sand on the beach, and orchestrates the changing of the tides. But on that scale, the meaning of such things might seem esoteric and removed from us as individuals. Which is why God knowing the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30), strikes us as profoundly reassuring — while simultaneously being a curiously innocuous detail . . . because our longing to be known runs far deeper than a simple cataloging of our hair follicles, could ever hope to address.
Within the Christian confession, the meaning and purpose of existence is summed up in declaring God’s glory – for all things were designed to give him glory. And given the intimacy innate to Imago Dei, meaning is mediated by the glory of God, revealed in the incarnation of Christ. That in the same way Adam beheld Eve declaring “flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23) – in Jesus becoming one of us, the meaning of the human experience finds its greatest expression . . . we are the beloved of God. You might want to ponder this the next time you find yourself on a shoreline watching the sun breaking over the horizon – not only does it declare God’s glory . . . but it’s also a declaration of his love for you, as well.
. . . indeed, there is much to be grateful for.
