What Constitutes True Life?

I looked in my dictionary for a practical definition of life. A couple of definitions stood out. An oversimplified definition of life is simply the interval between birth and death.  A more practical definition I found was the physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute a person’s existence.

Everyone born alive meets these two definitions of life no matter how short his duration on earth may be. What I want to bring to bear upon these generic definitions of life is the idea of true life in the eyes of God.  I believe many people are searching for that today but in all the wrong places.

I once read a statement on line that said life is to be lived, not just passed through. Some people fail to live their life. They are just passing through. So, how can we find real meaning in life in a world that’s always changing?

During one of Jesus’ teachings, He addressed the meaning of true life. This was occasioned by a man in the crowd Jesus was speaking to. “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me,” the man requested (Luke 12:13, KJV).

Imagine that; Jesus is talking serious stuff about the Kingdom of God. And this man interrupts Him to request that He speak to his brother to divide an inheritance. This suggests the man felt that his request was a matter of utmost importance. This I say because he felt justified interrupting what Jesus was doing.

Jesus Addresses True Life

Jesus used the man’s request to issue a warning about a serious misconception about life. Addressing the crowd, He said:

“Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

Luke 12:15, NASB

What Jesus says here goes against the grain of thinking in our society. Many people tend to believe that the things we have or that we don’t have define our life. Now, I am sure we all agree that if a person has all the necessities of life and a little more that he enjoys a reasonable quality of life. But Jesus says having those things does not constitute true life. In other words, life is more than having a lot of stuff.

To help the people see what true life was all about, Jesus taught this parable about a wealthy farmer. His farm produced so much that he planned to build bigger barns to store his goods (verses 16-18).

God blessed the works of this man’s hands. But he was not blessed because he served the Lord. This we know because God visited him one night to require his soul and called him a fool (verse 20). He was a fool because he failed to prepared to meet the Lord before God required his soul.  

Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. That means you may not live to enjoy what you are planning to enjoy. If your satisfaction in life depends upon an uncertain future, you don’t have a good plan for your life. You may die and leave your wealth for somebody else to enjoy. That was this man’s fate. God called him a fool.

The Wrong Concept of Life

Let’s talk about this man’s concept of life. Before God visited him, he said to himself, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry” (verse 19, NASB).

Our approach to life is based upon our concept of life. If our concept of life is wrong, the way we live our life will be wrong in the eyes of God. This man’s idea of life centered around pleasing himself. Many people today are like this man. They live their life preoccupied with depositing into some future that they hope to enjoy one day.

Is there anything wrong with saving for the future? No! You would be unwise not to do so. But again, a man’s life does not consist of the things he has. So, if you do no more than save for your future for later enjoyment, you have not discovered the meaning of true life.

Also, note what the man says to His soul in the verse above: “take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”  He had it all wrong. You see, food, money and material things can never satisfy the soul. I don’t care how much of these things you have; they can never satisfy the soul. A place exists within our soul that only a proper relationship with Christ can satisfy. If that relationship is not there, a sense of something being missing will always exist.

Applicability of the Parable

The vital question is who is Jesus talking to via this parable? He says, “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (verse 21, NASB). That means Jesus was and is talking to everyone who lives a self-serving life and does not make it a priority to get right with God. That was the problem with the man in the parable, and many people today are guilty of the same.

So, let’s review what Jesus taught us in this parable about the meaning of true life. One, eating, drinking and being merry cannot satisfy the soul. Two, tomorrow is not promised to us; your satisfaction in life should not depend upon an uncertain future. And three, true life is rooted in a life that is rich toward God.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth….” (Matthew 6:19). “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….” (Verse 20).

Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.