Carl Sagan, one of the most popular scientists of the 20th century, argued in his 1994 book Pale Blue Dot that there is no evidence for a Designer in the natural world. Because of his conviction that there was no God, he went on to say, “The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined only by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life’s meaning…If we crave some cosmic purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal.” Isn’t that incredibly sad?
If the meaning of your life and mine depend on human wisdom and courage, we are in a truly pitiable state. I have found that we humans rarely display great wisdom or courage. We tend to fall rather flat in that area. God says we learn wisdom when we realize the brevity of our lives and fear Him (Psalm 90:12; 111:10). Wisdom is helpful, but only when we recognize the LORD is the One who gives it (Proverbs 2:6). Human wisdom that does not flow from God is no wisdom at all. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” When people trust in their own wisdom, God reveals that wisdom as folly (Isaiah 29:13–14; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18–25).
Sagan says we should find some “worthy goal” if we crave “cosmic purpose.” How do we know what goals are worthy and what goals are not if there is no God? According to Sagan, we get to decide that on our own! We see the impoverished results of such muddled thinking in the world around us. Mental illness, insecurity and anxiety, depression, and gender dysphoria – all continue to rise in a society that has repeatedly denied God’s standards and established its own measure of what is worthy.
The beautiful image conveyed in Scripture is that we find our greatest fulfillment, in terms of worth and purpose, in Jesus Christ. Jesus says in Matthew 16:25–26, “whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
Your truest life, and mine, is found in Jesus Christ! Do you want your life to have meaning? Give it up. Give it away. If you keep your life for yourself, that’s all you’ll ever be worth. Just the little things that you do. You will not touch anyone else in any meaningful way. But if you give your life to Him, your life will have eternal meaning.
We are not the custodians of life’s meaning. There is a Designer who created you and me and everything in the world. As the Designer-Creator, He alone had the opportunity and the right to define life’s purpose. From the beginning He made humans for two purposes: to bear His image and to oversee His creation (Genesis 1:26–28). Anything less will leave us unsatisfied. Those who fail to bear His image will live unfulfilled lives. Those who fail to exercise stewardship will feel empty.
We have a worthy goal, but it is not based on human wisdom or courage. It is based on the God who made us, who loves us, and who wants to spend eternity with us. This is the Good News! Thank God we are not left to our own devices. Thank God He has given meaning to life, meaning far greater than anything we could have devised for ourselves.
Clay Leonard
