The Search for Meaning

The other morning as I was about to pour myself a bowl of Cheerios when the side of the box caught my eye.  It seems Cheerios has set up a Facebook page where you can share with the world what Cheerios means to you.  Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy a bowl of Cheerios as much as the next person.  But to be honest, what Cheerios really means to me is breakfast and sometimes lunch...and that is about it.  

Now, I know there has been a shift in advertising over the last several years.  Gone are the days of dancing cereal boxes on t.v.  Gone are the days when my laundry detergent would get my clothes 50% whiter and brighter...although I doubt anyone ever compared.  Gone are the days when we would get 50% more free...there is still a bottom line after all.  Today, commercials want us to buy something because it is meaningful to us or offers us a sense of identity.  I am not just buying Cheerios in the end...I can be part of the 850,820 people who "liked" Cheerios.  

Now, don't get me wrong...I do like Cheerios and will keep on eating them.  But it strikes me as interesting the way we toss around the word "meaning" today.  In the end we want to know the meaning of life, why we are here and specifically that our own individual life has meaning or purpose or is part of something other than just occupying space.  

But I have to confess that I don't think and I am not swayed that I can find that meaning through what I consume whether that be the car I drive, the clothes I wear or the cereal that goes in my breakfast bowl.  I think most of us know that we won't really find meaning in the snap, crackle and pop of our Rice Crispies, but we are not sure where to look.  And since the search for meaning has driven people on quests throughout the centuries, inspired countless books and epic poems, but who has the time for that today?  Or the patience?  If I just convince myself that Cheerios or Apple or Chrysler is providing something meaningful, then maybe the wrestling within my soul might ebb. 

I don't know how much longer this trend in advertising will last.  What I do know is that the church has lost its voice amid the cacophony of those clamoring to provide meaning.  To be sure, it is hard to keep on shouting.  And if even people listened, would we know what to say?  Would we know how to tell another person why a bowl of Cheerios is great...but there is something about praying, singing, talking, reading the Bible and being in a community of faith that opens us to a deeper sense of who we are and whose we are?  That there is incredible meaning amid the less than perfect institution called "the church"?  If as people of faith we cannot answer that...I understand why Cheerios will have more "likes" on their Facebook page when compared to the church.  

I pray in this season of Advent, as we sing our way to the manger, we will discover a sense of hope, joy, peace and love.  I pray in this season of Advent, as we sing our way to the manger, we will prepare room in our hearts...clear out the clutter of stuff...for the One who has eternity and true life dancing in his eyes.  And I pray in this season of Advent, you and I would have a sense of what offers us meaning through the traces of God's grace in our life.  

Blessings and peace!