Live From Meaning
Live From Meaning
Do you ever feel like you’re chasing a melody you can’t quite remember? Most of us live with a constant, underlying craving—a desire to know that our lives truly matter. We want to be significant. We want to be “great.” We want to know that if we disappeared tomorrow, the world would feel the void. This craving isn’t a mistake; it’s a design feature. However, the way we try to satisfy that craving often leads us into a “performance trap” that leaves us exhausted, anxious, and deeply insecure.
In this message, the second week of our series Hope of Glory, speaker CJ Ward explores a profound shift in perspective that changes how we view our identity, our work, and our worth. The central question we must all answer is this: Are you living for meaning, or are you ready to Live From Meaning?
The Fragility of Performance
Most of the world operates on an “honor-shame” or “performance-based” system. In this system, your value is something you manufacture through your successes, your career, your parenting, or your status. We spend our lives trying to prove we are enough. We look back at our “glory days”—much like the character Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite—clinging to past achievements, or we look forward with a paralyzing fear that we are “wasting our potential.”
The problem with living for meaning is that it is incredibly fragile. If your meaning is something you have to earn, it is also something you can lose. If your value is tied to your job title, what happens when you’re laid off? If your significance is tied to your children’s success, what happens when they fail? When we work to achieve meaning, we live in a state of constant anxiety because we are only as good as our last performance.
The Mystery: Christ in You
In Colossians 1:24-2:5, the Apostle Paul speaks about a “mystery” that had been hidden for ages but is now revealed to us. This mystery is the key to escaping the performance trap. Paul defines it simply: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
This is the “Hope of Glory” that our series is named after. It is the realization that glory—true significance and weightiness—isn’t something we achieve; it is Someone we receive. When Christ dwells within you, your significance is no longer a goal you are running toward; it’s the starting line you are running from. You don’t have to “make it” because, in Christ, you have already “arrived.”
Two Ways to Play the Game
CJ shared a powerful analogy involving a child playing a sport. Imagine two different children on the field. The first child is playing as hard as they can because they want to make their parents proud. Every mistake feels like a catastrophe because their parent’s approval is at stake. They are playing for meaning.
The second child is playing just as hard, but for a completely different reason. They know their parents are already proud of them. They saw their parents cheering in the stands before the game even started. This child isn’t playing for approval; they are playing from approval. They are free to take risks, free to fail, and free to enjoy the game because their identity is secure regardless of the scoreboard.
This is what it looks like to Live From Meaning. When you know you are loved unconditionally by the Creator of the universe, you are finally free. You can work hard, love deeply, and serve others not to get something from God, but because of what you have already received in Christ.
An Ocean of Love
As we concluded this message, we looked at the overwhelming scale of God’s grace. CJ reminded us: “If the love of God for you was water, the whole earth would be covered in it, and you wouldn’t drown.” You are caught up in a love that you didn’t earn and therefore cannot lose.
Stop trying to prove that you matter. The Gospel declares that you matter because God says you do. You are invited to step out of the exhaustion of “proving” and into the freedom of “being.”
Key Scripture:
"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Take the Next Step
Are you ready to stop performing and start living? We invite you to watch the full message, Live From Meaning, to discover how the “mystery” of Christ in you can transform your daily life.
Did you like the message, Live From Meaning? If so, check out more of our Sunday teachings here.
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