And I meant to address this.
Nothing is "meaningless." Everything was created by and for and through Christ Jesus for the glory of God. How could anything then be "meaningless?"
The Westminster Confession says that the "chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
That's a wonderfully uplifting point of view. Nothing "meaningless" about it.
We preach the word of God because God tells us that Scripture and its illumination by the Holy Spirit are the means God has ordained to reach His children and to "renew their minds" to the truth.
We don't know who's among the "elect of God" and who isn't. We can be assured of our own salvation because Christ tells us if we believe He is our Saviour, then we have been redeemed by His sacrifice and our faith is real.
We have indications of other people's salvation because Christ told us we will "know them by their fruits;" and only a good tree planted by God will produce good fruit, and any tree not planted by God will be pulled up.
But we have no power to change anyone's mind or heart. That's God's job. We simply preach the word in season and out, "confident God giveth the increase."
Nothing you say, no argument you make, can either increase or diminish the number of those saved. It's already set in stone.
That's not my idea. That's what God says.
If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?" -- Luke 12:25-26"And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass" -- Job 14:4-5
"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation" -- Acts 17:26"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
I would urge you to read these verses and see what God is telling you. It's very good news. Christ has risen. All who believe on His name have been redeemed, by the grace of God alone.
Mercy triumphs over justice.
AMEN Dr. E.! :) We leave to God those things the Bible teaches belong to God alone. We say: "that's not man's power, that's God's power". For this we are said to be our own Pope. Go figure. :)
I guess our problem is that we just give too much power to God. The universe would be much more fair if power was more evenly distributed between man and God. Let's think, if God actually had all the power, then how could man derive any meaning from his acts? As they say, whatever we do would be "meaningless" unless man was in control. Therein lies the rub. Does man derive meaning about himself and the universe FROM himself or from God?
I have recently been studying some of the "great" philosophers of the last 500 years who all insisted that man is the only logical starting point from which to derive meaning. As if you did not already know, ALL of them failed miserably to come up with a cogent explanation for a myriad of basic questions including about the purpose of man and the universe, and the relationship between God and man. No man and no group of men can explain those types of answers from themselves, lo they have tried, and still do.
And thanks for the spot on scriptures, as usual. :)