The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ecclesiastes 2:12-16,
"Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done? I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Then I thought in my heart, 'The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?' I said in my heart, 'This too is meaningless.' For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!"
"Like the fool, the wise man too must die!" Here is the ultimate frustration of life. We all die! There is simply no escaping it. Both the wise and the fool must die, the faithful and the irreligious, those who seek God and those who are self-seeking: all must die. Considered from the perspective Solomon chose for his experiment, the perspective of "life under the sun", it has a tremendous impact on just what we should expect from this life. The accurate conclusion is that life itself, by itself in this life only, is meaningless, empty, vain.
For life to have meaning, fullness and purpose, the perspective must transcend this life "under the sun". Apart from God, apart from the life he designed us for, life in the resurrection, Solomon's observations are truthful and accurate. This lost and fallen world, existing under God's curse, is populated by people who are all headed for death. Sickness, disease, pain, discouragement, disappointment abound in this world. Those who don't see it are simply not looking. Solomon looked and has provided us a comprehensive and accurate conclusion to the matter.
This should prepare us to look beyond ourselves, to look beyond this life. Death is but a doorway and the choices we make in this life hold critical importance for life beyond "under the sun". We will all face God's judgment following this life and those who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith in this life "under the sun" will find forgiveness of sins and a place at the table with Jesus Christ in the next. There we will encounter the pleasures God intended for us at his right hand, Psalm 16:11, and joy in his presence!
"Like the fool, the wise man too must die!" Here is the ultimate frustration of life. We all die! There is simply no escaping it. Both the wise and the fool must die, the faithful and the irreligious, those who seek God and those who are self-seeking: all must die. Considered from the perspective Solomon chose for his experiment, the perspective of "life under the sun", it has a tremendous impact on just what we should expect from this life. The accurate conclusion is that life itself, by itself in this life only, is meaningless, empty, vain.
For life to have meaning, fullness and purpose, the perspective must transcend this life "under the sun". Apart from God, apart from the life he designed us for, life in the resurrection, Solomon's observations are truthful and accurate. This lost and fallen world, existing under God's curse, is populated by people who are all headed for death. Sickness, disease, pain, discouragement, disappointment abound in this world. Those who don't see it are simply not looking. Solomon looked and has provided us a comprehensive and accurate conclusion to the matter.
This should prepare us to look beyond ourselves, to look beyond this life. Death is but a doorway and the choices we make in this life hold critical importance for life beyond "under the sun". We will all face God's judgment following this life and those who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith in this life "under the sun" will find forgiveness of sins and a place at the table with Jesus Christ in the next. There we will encounter the pleasures God intended for us at his right hand, Psalm 16:11, and joy in his presence!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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