McCracken Sermon, 1962-09-30, What Gives Life Meaning?

it's been the terrorist is taken from the gospel according to john chapter four that's thirty one meanwhile the disciples this sort of him saying rabbi eat but he said to them i have food to eat all of which you do not know the disciples to wear preoccupied as we are with the material necessities of existence not having eaten for a long time they had gone off to buy food and they were surprise when they returned with that jesus did not touch it

they urged him to eat not realizing that he had drawn on sustenance of another kind he had been talking to the samaritan woman about deeper cravings then goes a piece buy food and drink he had shown that how the hunger and yearning of a solo could be satisfied these aren't physical weariness and that he had been forgotten in his absorption in the conversation and because really informs which he had exempted on the work of the bard had already become manifest in her

story told the disciples about the spiritual nourishment by which he had been sustained and then did my fault is it to do that well of him who sent me and to accomplish his work now with this incident in mind let us ten to the question what gives life meaning we're never fully satisfied even though all our latino necessities are provided for that is in each of us a hunger for the things that feed the spirit vitamins from a solo on every bit as necessary as vitamins for the body eat drink and be met a park tomorrow we die is as shallow

philosophy and the person who lives by in the long run is played by reality and maybe awkward day is chronically beset by blocking the best things in life kasim dot by and before these days are done he recognizes this he lacks the spiritual satisfaction that comes from being needed and one from contributing something all subsystems to the problem oh when he takes himself out of circulation when he stops to think he realizes that his personal life has no hi no enduring meaning our church member raul may says on the basis of his own political

experience as well as that of his psychological and psychiatric colleagues that the chief problem off people today is emptiness well then we'll go to will holmes will center in they nevertheless have a feeling that they are missing something they have a feeling that they had unfulfilled that the airline should be happening at our agenda forward and should count for more than they do and this is why i asked the question what are the things which by keeping the spirit give life meaning and so i ask you to think about our gratitude to our daily work were just as important as the nature of the work we do is the manner in which we do it whatever it happens to be

no matter how prosaic and we being at times they're doing only standing at the counter interviewing clients we should try to pull our highest sales into it when a person ball says highest sale into his what he put something of got into it he enjoys what he is doing and doesn't rule does it well besides he is immune from the weakening virus all worth less and erin moore he doesn't think of himself as merely exchanging so much away but for so many dollars through is what he expresses himself to some degree heat heat for pharaohs himself it's

what gives dignity and propose to his life he can also at the prayer god help inmate i will do my best to date or with what i am where i am flaw jesus christ's servant with this close makes regular a divine who sweeps or rome as paul vi laws makes me a concrete action zhao's kingsley offer this council to offer him thank god every morning when you get up that you have something to do that day that must be done whether you feel like it or not being forced to work being forced to do your based wool breed in you

temperance and self control diligence and strength and will scheffer mess and content and our hundredth that shows which the idle never know the advice is in line with what would set has always said to a man and woman about the task in which they had engaged of the great pot off their work at islands mainly you have been set in the world of the pot notice with god in his continuing work of creation and in what you are doing you are so far as the work is creative productive use for call operators with god however someone is bound to say on to say rightly what about the millions of people who have what to do that makes no demand on their

creative faculties what about those employed in producing shorty after post or senseless luxuries what about those caught up in undertaking so down right now some of it so hot really competitive that their conscience is troubled by the involvement and coming to catch on sunday they have doubts about being a christian when they go to work on monday on a claim on sunday preaching about work as a vocation a man after would set to make this may the already well where you are concerned that you can have no idea of some of the things that i am required to do and that reminded me at once oh when i was in a gospel character

detective in the glasgow police force came to me and leave it for me it's a problem namely that his whole life should be spent in detecting crime was this a christian vocation to be looking for if a man has a troubled conscience about is what he cannot be deeply content to be is bound in pop to be a mother just to personality and i know of people in this big congregation was switched jobs just because of the discontent with what they were doing a conviction that they should be doing something else something that they could put more of themselves into something more enlightened with their christian principles and their christian convictions and all learned about this

personally execute it isn't medicine christian concern but we're all one should be so long and ask them directed man and woman in respect themselves while taking part in it and do it to the glory of god know that they may be and it certainly seems a long way off but the top business within the church and the citizens to do all that we can to bring it closer moreover i think it can be said that progress is being made that the difference between trains and professions it yours to be maintained is that the first organized again and the second for service now while they're still our man in business and industry the home moneymaking as the sole criterion of

performances nowadays the seventies one cent is playing a frog oro and a service concept and be a motivating factor even where workers repetitious and though i saw the clean air they launched i was close to the settlers it's lead from the docks intimate of applying that before me where the people whose land had produced the queen mary and i love my head or my head my head in overall state and his chess was out as the city ike to or events into a lot when you think about the work of our editor about the democratic uprisings that we're about to see nice of that job i suppose the only sort of promotion i made him a man doing their job that the

formal supervising other people do it but he said about the queen mary our rights intact but they can take on a lot of lobby less family lines said that he had to incentives the quality of the cars being turned out and his spot in maintaining good relations with the other worked on involved in the production this second consideration is one that perhaps minutes special emphasis most of us here have to work together in groups logs or small not only our gratitude to our work that affects our attitude to life as oh it is our attitude join the people with whom we worked and there's so much depends on tampa and and temperament at

school in the morning didn't you sometimes watched not only the dog as you waited for the teacher to come in wonderland set how innocent you knew what was in store for the day you could tell whether she was in a good morning are disposed to be in a difficult moment tampa and temperament don't have to be fixed quantity as they can be cultivated and we are cool operative who we are good natured if we are friendly all the work itself is texting and tiring life need not the ball and meaningless to be involved and rivalries small lot of rain is up at the full effect take thing to walk with a team in a happy partnership is a stimulating

experience i emphasize this because at this point we are coming very close to the christian answer to the question what gives meaning to life the essential meaning of life is found in the revelations of people to one another what jesus picks at with an emphasis that that was altogether new wars that our chief business next a loving god is to love our neighbors caring for people being concerned about them projecting ourselves imaginatively enter the alliance befriending and helping them to people and been the emphasis on this and when we can't really care new elements in our being come to light if

we have been a top nautilus begins to stop we begin to appreciate and understand instead of criticizing and condemning we develop sympathy act and tenderness and when as is you ought to happen we meet law in return life takes on new meaning we enter into a new world and feel our sales different persons we have full but he says state is our souls we we begin to be able to understand what jesus was after when he said i like it was for this that i was born somebody said where i love i live as long as the greatest things that like m o nuthin but most surely unites us

to god and our families and the ultimate secret of meaningful existence shakespeare knew that and on the lips are also a point of pride but i do love the air when i love the no chaos comes back again i'll disrupts the nose to listen to it all morning smugglers go see it works in our vocabulary lobby hewitt the grubby as smelly as smiley slightly us all from opiates lascivious and lascivious me croon through loudspeakers it has become an outrage to good taste and decent feely and obscene it which won't hesitate to pronounce and it actually it harris to be progress

but after all love is the last word the last word not only and personal relationships husbands and wives and some children teachers and peele close employers and employees but in their nation of nations two of you are love anywhere is to add to our live friends our deepest troubles stemming from the fact that ours is a loveless we know that walt in maryland is an eloquent slow for energy symbol big deal happened or no promise hoots poem the bridge of signs poem about the suicide by drowning in the dam's of a prostitute a loss of morality of christian

charter under the sun oh it was better for me about lawrence city for all that was non man's relations with their fellows unborn or i am that it the same consequences and i'm on or what a chaotic situation in mississippi and what i love the most situation and yet in the press saying by side with the mississippi story was another story all the biggest airline in the atlantic and the planes and said so once converging on a pilot some bruised bent on saving lives think sadly we see this

is human nature that it's best not oppressing not exploiting not manipulating caring giving of itself instinctively and and deeply recalling an experience of one of wall one henry williamson writes in the stupendous roller i'm like blast of the final rule the end and blurred line i see only one thing which grows radiant before my eyes and tell it there was all my wine this at all the german born half crushed under a shattered tank morning will to move to move a lot of gospel in greeley it's a british soldier wounded in the lane and sitting nearby here's the words and

dragging himself to be dying boy takes is called hamdan says all right so on it's alright ma votes here with you love is the greatest thing but life and hold the thing that most sharply unites us to bob and men and out the playoffs brings meaning when i'm still low they lost the third mistake state was dying his niece told him because he could see his lips moving but couldn't hear what it was that he was staying and what she had was less eddie is everything nothing matters so last thought i have been emphasizing two considerations

fast affecting our attitude to life is our attitude toward work and to the people with whom we work and secondly essential meaning of life is found in our relations with one another imo varnadoe to a final point no no complaints of the meaninglessness of existence if the us found a cause in which he believes and to which he can whole heartedly give himself if i am convents that's something worthwhile is going on and that i have a pot in it an informal union it simply does not occurred to me to go about maintaining that light actually they're designed

not purple soften the people who complained of the meaninglessness of existence or armchair the last step people don't mean a tight writers a lot of it is never an antidote to vote the meaningfulness of existence of god is never in any doubt about the meaningfulness of existence life takes on stature significance when it just defaulted to an ideal not just an abstract romo ideal an ideal embodied in a cause when we go to rid yourself of inner emptiness is to choose a call and then what for recess and actually putting into it every ounce of energy you possess to have something to live for something that really matters something bigger than yourself something better than yourself something that will outlast

yourself this is a remedy for a triviality and mediocrity and not that is to be carried along on a movie dates without any conception of that option oh come on regular old ultimate outcome it means that you've not come on leaps whenever a high and whatever the dignity of that you have income of each man to me morally spiritually you haven't risen to the hyped of your body but it's backed up and make sure if you didn't have all that time with a grubby material concerns if the big questions i want them i can eat what they might know where one mit three how much money can i am a reason for that height of your god given

nature if you have no cause no one's goals if you're not actively related to and participating in the live issues of our day and don't you see this is what price office every one of us and i do and one idea the kingdom of god the ruling brought in the hearts of man and in the life of society and then ideally inequality which applause market not to plumb not a coterie of people with social affinity and usually congeal tastes and it's just a call in which we are enlisted under our belts and to those services we are dedicating our discipleship not merely a profession but the location oh not that aspect katie active participants

and invite some minor or holy and meaning there's nothing that can afford the latest call to the whole range of a person's colors isn't this what so many of us are finding within the work and fellowship of the riverside church because all of our work for price in iraq and it has quote in the community we have to roll on what is above those sales hand so doing we take high up into our soil our devotion to the surface of god's kingdom is the biggest factor in the enlargement of our minds in the enrichment of our talk he missed thrust committed to us becomes out meat and drink we have food to eat to which there is no nothing and in

some degree we can say what jesus said it is for this that that we were born and this is described in does this begin to describe your of you probably mining of what it means to be within the company of jesus christ is the kingdom of god your iq is the church across that enables you to forward the idea here we are at the beginning of our all the new church here don't you sense in all this out a challenge and if you want to get out of the balcony at issue once you get into the army now want to make it your assault the idea is big we'll be constantly this law your hand because the church

will mean law and marty has writing about that price gives him away he can live with because he can walk for christ is a mosque he can follow and serve i like the way with the matzo was summed up by a ministerial colleague of mine in edinburgh at which i'm his church in mind were very close to one another and his daughter says that among the last things he told her and the sentence was to be the title of this summit on the sunday but he died before the summit

and the last things he told her was this crisis has a pension right my bags but as prey eternal god our father turn our eyes to the deep needs of our spirits and characters jared hess with the fact that it is from within your own hearts that the fountains rise who is flowing streams may sound all say the society as a man and nations therefore create a clean heart and

renew our rights unit within us the push back it's

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