In the pages of Scripture we see a connection between God’s creative and redemptive work and the establishing of meaning. The drama of God’s divine work in the Old Testament moves through the creation of the world, the redemption out of Egypt, and the conquest of Canaan. Each of these three acts wrests meaning from meaninglessness: first, the world emerges from nothing, secondly, Israel from the grave of Egypt, and thirdly the promised land blooms as from the desert.
In the New Testament this same drama of meaninglessness to meaningfulness moves through the resurrection of Jesus Christ recorded in the Gospels, and the need of the Gospel for the nations in Acts. Each of these acts likewise wrest meaning from meaninglessness: the seeming meaninglessness of the Cross is given meaning by the resurrection, and the nations find meaning only as they submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
All these acts thus interpret one another as works of divine power where the coming of salvation means the dissolution of meaninglessness in favor true meaning. We see here that the progress of redemption is closely tied up with the progress of meaning. In these historical stages the realm of meaning grows.
What is true in the progress of redemption is true for the individual who is caught up in God’s redemption as provided in Christ and applied by the Holy Spirit. The individual outside of Christ is without form and void – he finds no basis for meaning – but when the Spirit of God hovers over the individual in order to recreate by way of regeneration, the individual, by way of salvation, is for the first time given meaningful meaning. The individual is delivered from the kingdom of darkness, characterized as it is by the absence of meaning and significance and is translated to the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col. 1:13) where for the first time true meaning and significance is found.
It is then, not only the soul that is saved in salvation, but also the mind, for in salvation the mind can find objective meaning and be delivered from the subjectivism and meaninglessness that is so characteristic of those who are without God and without hope.
It is not only the case that we as Christians have abundant life to offer those trapped in their miserly lives of ongoing death, we also have to offer to people who are living life without meaning and significance genuine meaning.
