What on earth am I here for? That’s a pretty important question, isn’t it? Perhaps the basic question we human beings ask. What on earth am I here for?

Nicky Gumbel, the founder of Alpha and a pastor at Holy Trinity Brompton Anglican Church in London, England begins his presentation of the Alpha series with that question as the foundation in our search for meaning in life. He tells the story of a Swedish nanny employed by his friends. English, of course, was not her primary language and she occasionally fractured some of the English idioms. On one occasion, she discovered the family’s two children jumping on the bed. In response, she meant to say, "Children, what on earth are you doing?" However, what came out was, "Children, what are you doing on earth?" Not what she intended, but a very good question…the foundational question for our lives.

Over the next five weeks, that is the question we will be exploring, using as a starting point in our search the popular book, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Many of you are reading the book and participating in small group discussions on the topic. If you’re not in a group, first of all, I’d certainly encourage you to join one. Today is the last day the lists of groups will be posted in the Narthex. They’re listed by the days and times, plus the areas they’re meeting in. I encourage you, if you’re currently not in a group, to look the lists over, find a day and time you could meet, look for the group closest to the area in which you live and sign up. If the small group experience won’t work for you, I encourage you to read the book, reflect on the questions given for each section and journey with us in that way. Warren’s popular book has certainly touched a nerve in our society as people search for meaning and purpose in life.

It’s certainly not a new search. For centuries, human beings have pondered their mortality, their finiteness in the light of the stars and the universe, the circumstances of events around them and wondered about the meaning of life and their purpose in it. Over two thousand years ago, a psalmist—possibly King David himself—looked up and wondered, "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:3, 4) Similarly, the writer of Ecclesiastes looks back on his life and ponders its meaning, "What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:3) More recently, Viktor Frankl, a survivor of the holocaust received the Pulitzer Prize for his 1947 book, Man’s Search for Meaning. At Amazon.com I asked for a search of books with the theme of "philosophy" and got 29,032 results, including books about the philosophy of such modern-day philosophers as Homer Simpson, Seinfeld and Harry Potter. There’s even a book entitled Baseball and Philosophy! The search for meaning and purpose in life is all around us, has been for centuries and is pointed in many directions.

Where then, do we find meaning and purpose for our lives? From Homer Simpson? Seinfeld? Baseball? The Denver Broncos, perhaps? I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that I would suggest—along with Rick Warren, along with the psalmist, along with the ecclesiastic, and many, many others—that meaning and purpose in life can only be found within the context of a life lived in relationship with Almighty God. It’s important to note that meaning and purpose is not found merely in the acknowledgement of the existence of God, an occasional nod given to God—perhaps an hour or two on Sunday morning—and then the rest of life lived void of any indication of the presence or existence of God. Meaning and purpose come in a life that is lived continually seeking the presence of God and His will and purpose for our lives. As Warren states at the very beginning of his book, "It’s not about you…you must begin with God."

Some of the comments from the first meetings of the groups have suggested that Warren focuses so much attention on God and His purpose and His plan for our lives that our role and our choices in it seem insignificant. Additionally, Warren focuses so much attention on the bigger picture of our eternity with God, that this life, again, seems insignificant. My response would be that, first of all, this is the first of six sections of the book. The first section must ultimately be viewed in the context of all six sections. We’re going to get there, but we must begin with God. Secondly, in this first section Warren is addressing the primary hindrance that keeps human beings from finding purpose and meaning in life—the tendency to look within ourselves and to our resources to provide it. Or, in other words, our tendency to search for meaning and purpose in creation, rather than in the Creator. If he overstates God’s role in establishing purpose and meaning in life and understates our role, it’s because we too often and too easily do the opposite—focusing on ourselves and not on God. Get it straight, it begins with God. God is the source for true meaning and purpose in life. And how we view life will say much about the role God plays in it.

Let me suggest to you that people live life with one of three "philosophies" of life—life is something to be survived, or the purpose of life is to achieve personal success, or, finally, the purpose of life is to bring significance to life. The first two—survival and success—have a focus that is inward. Significance, the outer circle of the three, has a focus beyond ourselves. And when that focus becomes directed toward God and His purposes for our lives, when our focus begins to see our roles as being carried out in the larger context of the Kingdom of God and not the kingdom of Ron, or Nancy, or John, only then do we discover true meaning and purpose for our lives.

Some people look to just survive life. They don’t expect much out of life. They’re not looking for meaning and purpose in life. They simply want to make it from weekend to weekend, or perhaps day to day. Please note that I am not talking about those moments in life where crises strike that drive all of us into survival mode of some kind. Many strong, God-loving and God-focused Christians in south Asia today are in survival mode. All of us live from time to time in that first inner circle of survival mode. What I am talking about are those who never see life as anything more than something to survive, or endure. Those whose focus never turns off of themselves, never see much meaning or purpose to life, never see life in the context of the Kingdom of God. They live for the weekend. Their jobs are simply means to an end, the end being a weekend of self-indulgence having survived the drudgery of the week. It is not circumstances that puts them in survival mode, it is a philosophy of life.

It reminds me of some of my classmates in high school. It’s been interesting to attend high school reunions and see, first of all, who attends them and then, secondly, what people say about their high school experiences. For some, the goal in high school was merely to survive—to make it to the end, graduate, and get that diploma. They didn’t participate in any activities. They didn’t attend any activities. They weren’t interested in success in high school—grade point averages didn’t really matter—they just wanted to survive and make it to graduation. Some made it to graduation, some didn’t. But, it was all about surviving and nothing more. Consequently, they didn’t enjoy high school and certainly found little meaning or purpose in it. Few, if any of such people, bother to attend a reunion. High school was not something they enjoyed and they don’t care to relive the memory of it in a reunion and they’re really not interested in the lives of their classmates. High school was something to survive and now that it is past, they’re done with it.

Some people, it seems to me, live life that way. Life is something to survive, not enjoy. Whatever enjoyment comes out of life, comes in a weekend of self-indulging. I would dare to say that there is no one here who views life in such a way, for if you did, you wouldn’t be here. There’s no sense of God and His Kingdom, no time for God for someone whose philosophy of life is that it is simply something to be survived. If that’s your philosophy of life and you’re here, it’s because you’ve reached the point where you believe there’s got to be something more to life than that and you’ve begun searching.

I would expect, however, there are some among us who have moments of life in the next circle outward, a focus on success. Please note, again, I am speaking about a philosophy of life that has success as the end-all goal, a philosophy of life that seeks success, not in the context of the Kingdom of God, but in the context of the kingdom of self. Such a philosophy of life is fueled by materialism and worldly accolades. Meaning and purpose in such a life comes from where you stand in the accumulation of things and the honors and awards with your name on it. The temptation for such a life is strong, and I believe that is one reason Rick Warren, in the first section of his book, places such an emphasis on God’s role in finding purpose in life. A life lived with the ultimate goal of personal success is ultimately unfulfilling. Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrased translation of the Bible called The Message, states it this way in Proverbs 11:28. "A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree."

A God-shaped life, a life that is not a dead stump but a flourishing tree is a life of significance. Such a life finds meaning and purpose—not in self-indulging pleasures of the weekend after surviving the week, and not in success marked by the possession of things and awards—but, rather, in making a difference in the Kingdom of God. It is living life with a different perspective, one that finds at its center, not the self, but Almighty God. Such a life begins each day acknowledging God’s lordship over our lives, wondering how God will reveal Himself to us this day, asking to be used by God for His purposes and His will. The presence of God permeates through everything in such a life. Will there be moments of survival mode? Yes there will. But, it is survival mode with an understanding of God walking alongside us through whatever crisis has occurred, not a philosophy of life that begins and ends with self-indulgence. Is a "God-shaped life" one that is called to seek success? Indeed it is. We are to offer our very best to God in all we do, the kind of offering our best that leads to success. But, it is not success for our own sake, but success that provides the resources and opportunities to make a difference in the Kingdom of God. To live in the outer circle of a life of significance is to live with God at the very core of our beings so that what we would say and do brings glory to God—benefiting not only ourselves, but others as well. C. S. Lewis puts it this way, "The glory of God, and, as our only means to glorifying Him, the salvation of human souls, is the real business of life."

So, in the words of a Swedish nanny, "What are you doing on earth?" Merely surviving? Obsessively striving for success? Expecting the things of creation to bring you meaning and purpose in life? Or are you seeking instead a life of significance where the Creator, and not creation, brings true meaning and purpose? Again, from Eugene Peterson’s The Message, "Everything, absolutely everything above and below, visible and invisible…everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him."