A slight miscalculation

"Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning..." (1)
After bringing this up to an Atheist friend, he said, "No, its not that it doesn't have meaning, just not the meaning you think it has."
Ooohhh, that cleared it up. So I responded with another quote (why not quote my betters, these arguments aren't new),
"I expect a good deal of the problem is that you are busy disbelieving a different God than the one I am busy believing in." (2)

My friend was saying that life only has the meaning that you attach to it. There may be something to that. In fact, I would say it is exactly that. But which specific meaning you attach to life, in particular with regards to yourself, only determines the road you are going to travel into eternity.
Focusing your purposes toward your own end will get you just that: your own end. Even if it is something as noble as feeding the poor or as novel as solving hunger (which isn't very novel).
When it comes your time, you clock out so to speak.
But focusing on God, saying my "meaning" in life is to glorify Him, not only opens the door to eternity with God (there is a bit more theology involved though) but all other blessings are added as well; to you and to others. The hungry are fed, the poor clothed and the lonely loved. Forever.
My friend says he doesn't believe in God. Truth is, his god is not big enough even for him to notice.

(1) C.S. Lewis
(2)Larry Wall