The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Ecclesiastes 4:1-3,
"Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun."
The Christian book stores are full of books written by popular pastors and ministers on how to achieve a happy life. Millions are made as these books fly off the shelves as people seek to find happiness and fulfillment in their lives. Obviously, it alludes them. Otherwise there would be no market for just such books. Many well-respected authors within the church have found this need within the body of Christ and have tapped into it as a means of producing best-selling titles. Scriptures are quoted, lifestyle pitfalls are identified, "biblical principles" are applied and a happy outcome is often assured.
The promotion of this perspective has led to the notion that somehow happiness and fulfillment in a world that is estranged from God, a world that exists under his condemnation and his curse, a world that is dominated by a collective sinful nature that finds its expression in the self-indulgence of some at the expense of others, the mistreatment of many, sickness, pain, death, depravity and the deprivation of so many, especially those in "developing" nations, can be found if we but follow what is offered in these books, on the cds and in these ministries.
Solomon had a special gifting of wisdom from God himself. With that wisdom he went in search to find what in life brought pleasure, satisfaction and fulfillment. He was certainly endowed with all any man who ever lived could employ to search for it. With opulent wealth, wisdom, stature, horses and wives he conducted his investigation. He reports back to the rest of us, those of us who suffer from relative deprivation as we look into his lavish life, filled with the "grass is greener" lie smoldering in our hearts, thinking if I only had this or that... His report? He says "With much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." 1:18. His conclusion? Better is the man who has already passed from this evil world. Better yet is the one who has never had to endure it!
Very few have been so honest about what the truth is when it comes to living life in a lost and fallen world. Solomon was a man of God. As such he employed his resources to investigate those issues that really burn in the hearts of men - their personal happiness and fulfilment in this life. As the man he was, he did not shrink from the terrifying truth of the matter. "Life under the sun" is best not experienced at all.
So, what of those biblical principles that give us God's blueprint for living life in this world, "under the sun", what of all the self-help books that aid us in our pursuit of a happy life? When we follow them, we reap a reward, when we violate them we suffer the consequences. But the potential for finding the happiness and fulfilment we yearn for simply is not to be found in this life. As Solomon points out, this life is too temporary, it is filled with disappointment and inequity, it always, inevitably, ends in our death. This life exists under God's curse.
Is this the end of the matter? Not at all! Solomon is clearing the decks, preparing us for the gospel. The fulfillment of what we were created for is not to be found in life "under the sun". We were created for something better, hence the angst we feel over our lot in this life. Peter identifies it so wonderfully, and points to what our loving and merciful God has provided us: our hope in the resurrection! Such a wonderful hope this is that Peter tells us we best be prepared to give an answer for this hope we have, 1 Peter 3:15, because it leads to an inexpressible and glorious joy! 1 Peter 1:3-9. God offers us rescue from a cursed world and from his wrath!
The writer of Hebrews speaks of the mindset the heroes of faith had relative to life "under the sun". These great ones provide the way for the rest of us. "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16.
What a blessed hope we have from our loving God... especially when viewed accurately from an honest appraisal of life in this lost and fallen world, "life under the sun"!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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