[God] hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
A dear friend and former member of my church choir has quietly passed away after a long and painful illness. Blessed as one who has "died in the Lord," she now "rests from her labors."
Bryant and I paid a visit to "Laura" on Easter Sunday, and impressively, she recognized us and remained alert to converse with us for about five minutes before fading back into merciful slumber. I am so grateful we made the effort.
Nearly 4,000 years ago, King Solomon of Israel—styling himself "The Preacher"—offered the most profound thoughts on life, death and eternity the world has ever seen (yes, thoroughly eclipsing Socrates). His major philosophical work, Ecclesiastes, is categorized by biblical scholars as Wisdom Literature. The writing uses stunning metaphors and elegant, sophisticated poetic expression, making it a pleasure to read for one who loves language.
"The Preacher's" keyword is "vanity," (something that seems to have substance but disappoints) and he liberally applies this concept to all earthly values. Rather depressingly, he tramples into the dust our commonly-held ideas of what is important in life—reputation, possessions, family heritage, accomplishments, power, pleasure, mirth and joy—by pointing to the fact that these things ultimately perish, and there's nothing we can do about it. These are all good things with which to concern ourselves, but we need to view them in perspective and recognize where they belong in the grand scheme. Work as hard as you like to obtain possessions, says the king, but when you die, you permanently cease to enjoy the benefit of possessions. You don't even know who will inherit them. By the end of the book, we realize that this life is not about this life, but about the eternity beyond it.
So, does that mean we should "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die?" Does it follow that we simply live for our own pleasure? No, because the decisions we make in our earthly life affect our eternity. I quote from Ecclesiastes 8:
A dear friend and former member of my church choir has quietly passed away after a long and painful illness. Blessed as one who has "died in the Lord," she now "rests from her labors."
Bryant and I paid a visit to "Laura" on Easter Sunday, and impressively, she recognized us and remained alert to converse with us for about five minutes before fading back into merciful slumber. I am so grateful we made the effort.
Nearly 4,000 years ago, King Solomon of Israel—styling himself "The Preacher"—offered the most profound thoughts on life, death and eternity the world has ever seen (yes, thoroughly eclipsing Socrates). His major philosophical work, Ecclesiastes, is categorized by biblical scholars as Wisdom Literature. The writing uses stunning metaphors and elegant, sophisticated poetic expression, making it a pleasure to read for one who loves language.
"The Preacher's" keyword is "vanity," (something that seems to have substance but disappoints) and he liberally applies this concept to all earthly values. Rather depressingly, he tramples into the dust our commonly-held ideas of what is important in life—reputation, possessions, family heritage, accomplishments, power, pleasure, mirth and joy—by pointing to the fact that these things ultimately perish, and there's nothing we can do about it. These are all good things with which to concern ourselves, but we need to view them in perspective and recognize where they belong in the grand scheme. Work as hard as you like to obtain possessions, says the king, but when you die, you permanently cease to enjoy the benefit of possessions. You don't even know who will inherit them. By the end of the book, we realize that this life is not about this life, but about the eternity beyond it.
So, does that mean we should "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die?" Does it follow that we simply live for our own pleasure? No, because the decisions we make in our earthly life affect our eternity. I quote from Ecclesiastes 8:
Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his days, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before him: but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
According to Solomon, the important things in life are walking with God, living righteously in the fear of God, and preparing to live eternity in the presence of God. He intends to remind us that our fleeting earthly life only takes on meaning in the light of Eternity. These are Solomon's concluding thoughts:
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Ecc. 12:13-14).
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