Now much/most of the lessons I will share with you all are based upon my personal experience/realization, so you may not have the same connection to what I share, as I myself feel. None the less, I hope you all are able to pull something valuable from these!

 

 
Ecclesiastes has easily become one of my favorite books of the Bible. You may find that strange, seeing of how depressing the book seems to make this life we live, but I find it quite opposite (for those of you who don’t know what Ecclesiastes is all about, open up your bible right after Psalms and Proverbs and find out!).

I think I love it so much because it shows us  the meaning of existence (in a very sobering manner at that); it goes straight to the point. It is applicable to every aspect of our lives and shows us the reality of what has true value in the eternal sense, and that value is only found paired with our God.

I recently have had several discussions about the purpose of life. One of my friends went on to explain that he creates his own purpose, he gives himself the meaning, by what he pursues, by what he likes, what he wishes for the future, and that is all reinforced by how he lives now and who he is surrounded with. But this purpose is subject to change at his whim or circumstance… Now I ask how that is a purpose for your life, if you can alter your purpose whenever you please? That purpose you had previously is no longer… From what I see that is no purpose at all.

If everything you are; everything you know now, love, aspire for in this world was suddenly all stripped away, would you still have purpose for who you are, or would who you are at your core  be changed, or fall apart?

Human nature constantly pushes us towards something; something more, something greater, better… I honestly believe that this is because everyone (whether they know it or not) deeply long to be with their Savior, and until the day we die and are reunited with Him, this is the life we all lead. Many fill that “moving forward” with something other than the pursuit of God though.

My brother recently had an English class at the UW which ended up discussing (more or less) the meaning of life. By the definition found in class; the purpose for living is only found in what you look forward to in the future, that there is always something more and better, something to work for. But I just want to ask you, all this working towards something, to what avail?.. At a certain point all of this will come to an end, this is insured by death.

UNLESS of course what you are striving towards lasts eternally. My purpose for my life will NEVER change, because my purpose is defined in Christ Jesus; our God, who always was, who is, and who always will be. This is just a reminder to remember that the only thing that we know is forever is our God, and the life of every person on this earth; who will either spend eternity in glory or lost in torment. We all have been graced with such a short period (in the scheme of eternity) to make an impact on the eternity of others, don’t let your perspective be lost.

Everything else taken from us in this world; every possession, everything you want or have, even our very self… all that is left is the soul. Whether or not that soul will spend an eternity in the glorious presence of God our Savior, or the in the torment of hell… that is the most important matter we can involve ourselves in.

Always check your view, and ask yourself why you pursue something. What impact/edification does that which you spend so much of your time have in the eternal perspective?

I want to reinforce that without God, what we strive for, ultimately will be meaningless. We will not find comfort/satisfaction in who we are or what we pursue if we create a purpose separate from that of God.

Here are a couple of verses that really started my thought process, but all of Ecclesiastes is what brought it about:

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those that consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” – Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

“Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work – this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of heart.” – Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

Before I close this. I definitely am not trying to make the point that the pursuit of worldly items or pleasures is evil, or wrong in anyway (which could easily be taken away from the above verse). Desiring to be successful, talented, create, and yearn for “more/better” is not wrong in the slightest, it only becomes lost when we detach those things we pursue from God, and lose sight of what our ultimate purpose is.