Dear Trekker,
Recently I finished annual reading in the Old Testament Scriptures, the book of Ecclesiastes. No “book” honestly captures man’s thinking quite like this one. So true, so accurate! Have you read it recently, trekker? You should!
The writer of Ecclesiastes (loosely translated “the Preacher”) most believe to be King Solomon. He seemingly takes a step backward to get a detached view of life, much like a photographer adjusts his position to get “more in the picture”. Chapter 1:13 describes this action: “I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven.” Not a bad approach… it is wise to determine the meaning of life. Is the meaning of life a journey to an ultimate destination or a cruel hoax ending in a final death?
Solomon came up empty! Without God, we all (eventually) come up empty. Start with God and you have a plumb line, an anchor, a point of reference. Without God, we can know nothing of value and do nothing significant in God’s eyes. The world, from an earthly perspective, is monotonous… it is “same-o, same-o”… “there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). History repeats itself; life always ends in death; there is no escape from the uselessness of life apart from God. Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Preacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless (1:2). A secular, man-focused perspective is the tone of Ecclesiastes 1 and leads to futility of thought, action and unfulfilled dreams. (Trekker… doesn’t this speak to us today?)
I am reminded of the familiar words of Jeremiah, Chpt 9:23, 24: “This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of His strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him
who boasts, boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight”, declares the Lord.
God alone is the starting point and the key to examining the meaning of life! Start with God and life can be understood… leave God out and what we believe about anything is baseless and relevant only to whim. The fact that we can “wonder about” the meaning of life sets us apart within creation. The animal world “doesn’t seem to worry”… they just exist. But we worry, wonder and wander… yearning for meaning, but are never satisfied if God is not in the picture.
Chapter 2:4-11 outlines “all we do” in our quest, yet “the eye never has enough seeing” (1:8) and “appetite is never satisfied”. What a commentary on the physical, desire-filled, flesh- satisfying age in which we live, where the appetite for God is absent.
One thing I enjoy about Ecclesiastes is how it brings us up short on conventional wisdom! The Preacher highlights the concept of legacy… longing to be remembered. His words are sobering (consistent with views I have expressed before in Passing the Baton): “There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow” (1:11). The baton is never us, but Jesus Christ alone! (February, 2005, MEN Passing the Baton). Be careful, trekker, about seeking to leave any legacy other than faithfulness. The legacy has been left… at the cross, at the empty tomb, the ascension and Pentecost!
I enjoy, too, the truth in Ecclesiastes. Truth always has a moral component. “Patience is better than pride” (7:8), “anger resides in the lap of fools” (7:9), “a bribe corrupts the heart” 7:7), “a good name is better than fine perfume” (7:1), “the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure” (7:4). “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (9:10) rings with the enthusiasm without which we cannot live joyfully.
The truth of our “sinful nature” is highlighted, too, in Ecclesiastes. Chapter 7:29 notes… “This only have I found: God made mankind upright, in His image, but men have gone in search of many schemes.” How revealing is 7:20: “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” The Preacher notes another truth meaningful to me as a soldier: “As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it” (8:8). Yes, there is wisdom in Ecclesiastes: “… the hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts where they live…” (9:3).
We are accountable to the God who is there! He brings us to judgment: “Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eye sees, but know that for all these things, God will bring you to judgment” (11:9).
Ecclesiastes inevitably turns a wise trekker towards home! We cannot live one moment apart from His sustaining presence. Yes, the message is clear… no Jesus, no ultimate meaning in life! Trekker, may we so live that our lives have no meaning apart from the Lifegiver, Jesus Christ. I close with Paul’s commentary on wisdom from his letter to the Corinthians: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of the age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Jews demanded miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified… Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God!”
Keep the faith, Trekker.
Your friend,
Jim Meredith
