Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (A Time To...)

Sometimes I have a problem with God.  That sounds blasphemous, I know.  My problem is that I don't understand His ways and His reasons.

I don't understand why Josh suddenly lost his hearing in his right ear this summer, and it doesn't look like it will ever get better.

I don't understand why my Mom got cancer and died.

I don't understand why the baby we were so excited about last July didn't make it.

There is a lot I don't understand.  And that's just what I don't understand in MY life, let alone the whole world and all of its problems.

Pastor Jim talked to our class at church on Sunday, and he let us know that in the Jewish culture and the Old Testament, like the book of Job for instance, its much more acceptable to "wrestle with God" or to question why He's doing what He's doing.  For most of my life, I'd been under the impression that we should never question God.  That by questioning Him, we're not trusting Him.  But instead, I'm beginning to think that what kind of real relationship can be had when one party is very confused and upset by what the other is allowing or doing, but they aren't allowed to express those feelings and thoughts?  It wouldn't work in any of my earthly relationships, and I know that I'm talking about Almighty God here, but based on what I read about Him, I don't think He's put-off by our questions and our "whys".  In fact, for many of us, our "whys" might be the most we've ever talked to Him in a long time.  He can handle our "whys."

The problem is:  He doesn't always answer them.

And He doesn't have to.  I can ask all I want, and I can feel comfortable doing that.  But what if He doesn't actually answer my questions on my time line?  He doesn't have to.  He's God.

Now see, satan is very simplistic, and he's much easier to understand.  He is a being of pure evil, and everything he does is evil.  His reason is easily understood.

But God, however, is a quandary.  It is difficult to understand His actions in the short-term.  The big question:  if He's so good and all-powerful, then why are there so many problems in the world?

And this is the problem that leads Solomon to write Ecclesiastes Chapter 3.

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— (v.1)

The most important thing to remember is that God has made a time for everything that occurs.  Who is the one "appointing" in this verse?  God is.  He is the one in charge of the schedule of events.  He has a plan, and He does not waver from it.  He is not surprised by anything.  I like a line from the book I'm reading right now that says, "He is not always pleased, but He is never perplexed."

He is in charge.  And that's what we have to decide for ourselves first and foremost, before we go any further -- either God is sovereign or He's not.

Oh, trust me, I have wrestled with that question a lot the past few years.  I'm sure you have too, or if you haven't, you will some day.  But I am coming to find that every single event is part of God's plan.

² A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
³ A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴ A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
⁵ A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
⁶ A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
⁷ A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
⁸ A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

Solomon tells us here that there will be a day that you will receive a call that someone you love has died, and you will weep.  But that won't last forever, because then you will move into your dream house or have a baby and you will laugh!  This is how life is.  For all of us.  So, we need to expect it. 

I hate to admit this, but until bad things started to happen to me, I really thought I was going to be the exception.  I really did.  I had gotten away with twenty-four years of my life with very little hardship, and I know compared to some, I have gone through relatively little hardship even still.  But, I can promise you, none of us will have a perfect, stain-free life.

There will be times where we need to tear down poor relationships, but there will also be times that we need to build certain ones up.  There will be times we need to hang on to something or someone and times when we need to let go.  There will be times when we should just be silent about the things we know about someone else and times when we should speak upliftingly about them to others.

We all will experience these seasons.  There is no escape, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either.

Here's the thing: God is not Santa.  He's not our personal genie or vending machine who gives us exactly what we want.  He's got bigger plans for you than to just give you what you think you want!  We don't even know what's good for us and how to take care of ourselves in the best ways (though so often I think I do).  God is in control.  He does not cooperate with our plans, and according to our rules, He does not "behave".

But here's the thing:  He loves us.  He loves us more than we could possibly imagine.  He celebrates our joys with us and cradles us when we cry.  The trek up the mountain is not always easy, but He promises that the place He's taking us (even while we're on Earth) is better than we could possibly imagine.  He has a destination for you.

So, if you're celebrating today, keep celebrating!  If you're smiling today, keep smiling!  What a great season you are in!  And remember that this season will probably not last forever, so enjoy it today.

And if you're crying today, remember that our lives are not meant for constant weeping.  You will laugh again.  Weeping is only a season.  Joy comes in the morning.  I can attest to that!

We can't see what's ahead, but He does, and He loves you.  While we are holding His hand, He holds the map.

He is authoring a great story in your life, one for His purposes and for your good.

Can you trust Him?

Ecclesiastes 2 (Pleasures and Possessions)

So, I hope you were able to read Ecclesiastes 2 last week and enjoy the memoir of King Solomon.  Like any good memoir, he is so honest!  I can't believe he wrote that 3,000 years ago, and all of those issues are still what we face today.  There is nothing new under the sun.

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ² “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

He started by pursuing pleasure to no end.  He tried to drink and act ridiculous (like many drunk people do), and later, he talks about experiencing the pleasure of many voluptuous women, too.  The man did whatever he wanted, trying to find meaning and joy.  But, like those of us who have also given the pleasures of this world more power than they deserve, he woke up the next morning realizing all his efforts the night before were futile.  And if he's like me, he felt even worse than he did before.  

The thing about drowning ourselves in the pleasures of this world is that we might cover up our pain for a moment, but at some point, we do have to wake up the next morning.  And the problems are still there.  

And so the only way to truly live for pleasure is to live in denial of the reality that there are many hurting people around us and that we are hurting, too.  But that is madness.  That's insanity.

In our affluent culture, it's easy to make a god out of pleasure because options are all around us, and every single one of us has access to them.  But if we think pleasures will make us happy, we will never, ever be satisfied.  Our lusts are like a fire that can never be quenched.  We are always left wanting more.  

Nope, pleasures are not the key to this life.

So then Solomon tried posessions.

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.  ¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.

Now, if that doesn't sound like "The Life," I don't know what does.  It sounds like paradise to me!  And verse 10 sounds like something I will never experience:  He said "no" to nothing!  He had all the money a man could want, and he lived it to the full.  There's no checking the budget, no peek at the checking account to make sure there's enough money in there.  You just want it, you get it.  

I have had moments in my life where I an basically picturing this scene right here, and thinking to myself, now if I lived like that, life would be perfect.   Sometimes we think more money and more stuff will solve our problems.  I'm guilty of it!  But Solomon goes on to say:

My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
    nothing was gained under the sun.

Even after all of that, when he looked around at all he had done and all he had achieved, he still felt that something was missing!  All this stuff before him....meaningless.  Vanity.  Smoke. 

¹⁷ So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. ¹⁸ I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. ²⁰ So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹ For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. ²² What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? ²³ All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

Solomon realized that after all this work, he can't take any of it with him when he dies.  And he will probably be leaving all of his fortune to someone who won't even be thankful for it since they didn't have to put in the work that he did.  What a waste!

And now he begins to get depressed.

"So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun...all their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest."

All this work, and he still can't even sleep.  The stuff is not bringing him the rest and contentment he thought it would.

I remember talking to a family at my school a few years ago.  The husband had sold a business (one you would recognize if I told you) and made millions while he was in his thirties.  They now live in one of the biggest neighborhoods in town, an enormous house, grand vacations, and neither the mom nor the dad work anymore!  They're just living off of their investments!  Sounds like the perfect life to me -- retired in my thirties!  For months, I grew more and more envious of these people and their lifestyle.  After weeks of having the mom help me in my classroom, my curiosity couldn't resist anymore, and I started asking some questions (politely).  To my  surprise, I found out that they are less settled than before they sold the business; the dad is so worried now about all of their stuff and has made a "job" of watching their investments daily (which I'm told is not the best way to invest), and he couldn't sleep well anymore!  The look in her eye let me know it wasn't all that it seemed at times.

Sounds just like Solomon!  You are worried about not having enough money, but once you have all the money and stuff, you're worried about keeping it!  The cycle never stops!

And so, Solomon has learned that the stuff will never satisfy, and he is depressed.  But a life built on "self" and "vanity" tends to head that direction.

A person can do nothing better in himself than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, ²⁵ for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?

And there it is.  In ourselves, we can only eat, drink and try to find satisfaction in our work.  And then we die.  But man must go outside his own finite self to find what is infinite.  

And that is God.  God is the one who provides meaning and direction and even the ability for us to just enjoy what we eat and drink and do.

And He does that.  He gives us grace -- something we have that we do not deserve.  There is no happiness in life without God.  Without Him, we are just on a random, pointless cycle that ends in death.  We must look to Him!

²⁶ To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

The person who fears the Lord, loves Him, follows Him, honors Him -- to them, He will give the wisdom and happiness that man so desires, because it is found ONLY in Him!  Nothing this world has will satisfy us because it, too, is finite.  You want real worth, purpose, and contentment?  We must look Up.

If you don't know God, you don't know much.  That's not being prideful; that's how God designed it.

I want to end today with a quote from Francis Shaffer's daughter.  She was attending college in Switzerland in the 1960s, where the predominant views were atheism and nihilism.  Some of her classmates even doubted that they themselves existed!  But she had no problem answering the intellectual questions she faced.  Her friends asked her why she seemed so content.  She said, "Because I believe that the infinite, personal God made us, and we're not simple part of nature.  We are created in the image of God.  Evil is not just something out there that looks unpleasant; it is truly evil because it's contrary to Him.  God has made Himself known in the Bible.  The paramount idea of the Bible is the person of Jesus Christ who came to save us from sin.  Through Him we can know God and enjoy everything He has given. We can die in hope."

Some may call it a cop-out.  Others may call it Truth.  But as for me, that's the only reason worth living.

Lord, help me to not fall into the trap that pleasure and possessions will make me content and joyful.  I don't need money, or cars, or houses, or fancy vacations.  I just want Jesus.  Help me to seek Him above everything else this world has to offer.  I know it's not my natural position, so please help me to do it with Your strength.  I just want You, God.  Only You can satisfy.  

Ecclesiastes 2 (Solomon's Memoir)

I love a good memoir!  I love reading true stories of people's hardship and pain, and then seeing how they learned from those experiences.  Memoirs just fascinate me.  And much like our focus today, they often highlight how the main character is trying to find meaning, purpose, and peace in a world that has not been kind to them.

In what ways do you strive to find meaning, purpose, and peace from pleasures, the wisdom of the world, and work?  These are the foci of chapter 2, and for me, those six things pair up nicely in my head:

I'll try to get some peace from different pleasures: comfort from a bowl of soup, laughter from a glass of wine, and the ability to not think about the current struggles of my life by drowning my thoughts in a movie or TV show.  My ultimate goal in my biggest moments of humanness is to have tons of money and a 40 million dollar estate.  Money would fix all my problems, wouldn't it?  Well, ask the former lottery winners who are now bankrupt.  All of these things give me a "peace" for the moment, but it never lasts.

I'll try to get some meaning from the wisdom of the world: I am meant to stay looking young forever since the healthy and beautiful people are worth the most, so I'd better be one of them; as long as I'm "only hurting myself" I can do whatever I want; and there is no real Truth to be found because anything and everything is okay as long as it "feels right".  But again, I may think I have figured it all out, until I realize that I can't help it, I am going to get wrinkles and cellulite!  My actions do have consequences that affect those around me, especially the people I love most, and even though something "feels right" in the moment, if I'm using that excuse, it will usually feel wrong the next day.

And I'll try to get some purpose from my work: if I can achieve ___ at my job, then everyone will know I have really amounted to something; or if my house and kids are perfect, then I will know what I'm on this earth to do; or if the charity organizations reach our financial goal, maybe they'll move me up on the committee or board of directors.  Really?  Is that the best this world has to offer regarding my entire life's purpose?!

Yes, I think things like this.  I think we all do!  So in Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon tackles the ideas of pleasures, wisdom of the world, and work.  I can't tell you how much better it is to read this whole chapter at once -- you'll see it just flows together!  So, today, let's read it through and then we can start diving into it on Thursday.

Again, it's kind of negative (he's making his case all the way through) until verses 24-26, so hang in there, because there is good that comes from life, too!  I promise you!

This is just fascinating...it's like Solomon's memoir!

Pleasures Are Meaningless

2 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ² “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

⁴ I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
    nothing was gained under the sun.

Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless

¹² 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?
¹³ I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
    just as light is better than darkness.
¹⁴ The wise have eyes in their heads,
    while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
    that the same fate overtakes them both.

¹⁵ Then I said to myself,

“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
    What then do I gain by being wise?”
I said to myself,
    “This too is meaningless.”
¹⁶ For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
    the days have already come when both have been forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise too must die!

Toil Is Meaningless

¹⁷ So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. ¹⁸ I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. ²⁰ So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹ For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. ²² What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? ²³ All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
²⁴ A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, ²⁵ for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? ²⁶ To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

What do you think?  Can you relate to what Solomon is saying here?

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 (Intellectualism)

We are never going to have it all figured out.

Does that statement come as a relief to you or does it cause you anxiety?  For me, it takes the pressure off.  I don't have to play the role of God.  And I am sure thankful for that. 

Over the next few days, we are going to look at a few different ways that humankind tries to "figure it all out."  Solomon shows us three different avenues that humans take for trying to figure out the purpose of life, to find our meaning in this world, and to find peace:  intellectualism, hedonism (pleasure), and materialism.

Today, let's talk about intellect.  By taking one thing and making it the ultimate thing, we have made an idol out of it.  So, what if we put all our eggs in the basket of knowledge and intellect?

With intellectualism, we think that by studying enough, we will figure out the meaning of life -- if we can just read enough about what the other philosophers, theologians, and historians say, we will discover our meaning, learn the answers to all of our questions, and find peace.

So Solomon gave that a shot.

He says,
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.

Now, remember, because he is the king, he has access to anything and everything.  He's got tons of money and tons of connections.  He doesn't have to ask for books by different philosophers of his day -- he can just summon the philosophers themselves to show up and talk with him over a cup of coffee!  He doesn't have to check his bank account to see if he can afford yet another set of books to study -- he could buy the whole library if he wanted!  He could forget about having to go out and make a living, and his 40-hour work week could consist of reading and studying, traveling to different places to learn from other cultures, and doing anything else that might enhance his understanding and grow his knowledge.  And he did this for years!

Wouldn't that be nice?

And what was his conclusion after all of that? 

What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! 

That was his conclusion.  He's saying that being a human is no easy thing!  We strive and we study and yet:

¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be straightened;
    what is lacking cannot be counted.

He still thinks everything is meaningless.  The things that are crooked in this world cannot be straightened out by man, and we can't even figure out what is lacking so that we could solve the problems.  We think we might know, but it's all just smoke, and even our best explanations will vaporize within a short amount of time.  Man is grabbing at something that is beyond his reach!  The world is fundamentally flawed and none of us can fix it. 

Now, Solomon knows how hard it's going to be to convince us that our "knowledge and wisdom" are pointless, so he says it one more time:

I said to myself, “I know more and I’m wiser than anyone before me in Jerusalem. I’ve stockpiled wisdom and knowledge.” What I’ve finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless—nothing but spitting into the wind.

¹⁸ Much learning earns you much trouble.The more you know, the more you hurt. (The Message)

Don't you wish he would give us some more specific examples of what he means?  I do!  I do know that all throughout Scripture, God shows us a way to live and a reason to live that is very different than what the world around me tells me.  Perhaps you can think of examples from your own life.  But what I can conclude is that Solomon has gotten all the wisdom and knowledge the world has to offer us.  He's also been around the people who we would revere as the wisest and most knowledgeable in their fields of study.  And still, he sees that we all continue to miss what it's really all about.  We are all still unsettled, even with all the wisdom this world has to offer us here "under the sun."  Something is still missing.  Even with all this knowledge, we don't become perfect people.

Based on what Christ says, and because we have the Bible, we know that the problem is sin.  And even with all our knowledge (philosophy, religion, psychology, sociology, history, logic, and rhetoric -- the best ideas man has invented), we cannot change the hearts of people.  Only God can do that.  Apart from God, even a highly educated man will die an educated failure.

We will not find the solution or our purpose and meaning in and of ourselves.  Do you believe that?

We must fall before The One who even gives us even the ability to gain knowledge, so that He can show us what Truth, Knowledge, and Wisdom really are.  The knowledge of this world is just smoke and mirrors, but God's truth is something upon which we can place our entire lives.

Have you thanked Him and asked Him to show you that today?  I'd say now would be a great time...

Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 (The Thing)

Have you ever gotten The Thing you really wanted?  Let's say you've striven, and worked, and sacrificed until that thing you always wanted really came to be...have you been there? 

I have.  One example is my house.  I absolutely love our living room.  If there's anything you should do when you decorate a house, it's to decorate in a way that makes you feel comfortable (sometimes I look at design magazines and think now who could really relax in a space like this?).  Anyway, so comfort is what I tried to make my living room exude.  I spent hours picking out the perfect furniture, then the perfect accents, and finally arranging it all in the space.  The living room was going to be my piece de resistance.  And it was!  Until about a week later when I started thinking the guest room needed to be more comfortable too, and then the office, and then our bedroom.  It never stops. 

Or perhaps it's not "stuff" for you.  A writer whose blog I love to read tells a similar story.  She was always just wishing to lose those final 15 pounds so she could wear a Size 4/6 and finally feel good about herself, her skinny self.  One day she finally got there...and found that even her ultimate didn't make her happy either.  It felt good for a while, and then it really didn't matter anymore, and being that size certainly didn't suddenly make all her other problems go away.  Of course it wouldn't, we think.  But really, we think it will!  We think The Thing will be the final hurdle that will make meaning and create constant contentment in this life.

This is one of the points that Solomon brings to us today:

All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.

Here we are running this wearisome rat race, and we are worn out!  Yet we keep going.  We never stop looking and listening and trying to find The Thing that will make us happy and complete.

I love this part of The Problem of Life With God by Tommy Nelson: "Life is tough.  Everything is wearisome.  Life never resolves into peace and contentment.  A man can never stop in his quest for happiness because he will never find it.  Our culture is destroying themselves to fight a losing battle.  They are trying to find happiness in places where it will never be found."

Another translation of "more than one can say" is "Man is not able to tell it."  Nelson continues by saying, "When Solomon says, "Man is not able to tell it," he means that--by himself--man can't figure out life.  Man doesn't naturally step back and realize that its impossible for a finite man in a finite world to have infinite meaning...if there is any meaning to life, there must be someone outside the system who is infinite and eternal, providing that meaning."

***

What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;
    there is nothing new under the sun.
 Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.

It can be both an encouragement and a discouragement to know that "there is nothing new under the sun."  I am encouraged whenever I face trials, because I know that I am not the only person who is dealing with a given circumstance.  In fact, Jesus himself faced the trials that are common to man.  The problems I have at work will happen again; the problems with my family will happen again -- these things we face under the sun are not uncommon.  

The discouraging part for some might be that any great and new ideas I may have are not really new.  If I have a thought that I think is new, someone somewhere has had that thought before.  For example, if I think I've found the key to life in nature, well, you're among the people of India who were doing that in 2000 B.C.  You think the stars hold the key?  Well again, the Indians were doing that for centuries.  Or mother earth?  The Celts in 1400.  Health and wealth?  Think Rome.

We are not going to find the keys to happiness and contentment.  It has all been tried.  There is nothing new under the sun.

But man will never learn this:

No one remembers the former generations,
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.

Generation after generation will keep trying to find meaning in this life, thinking that the ones before them just weren't smart enough, advanced enough, or technologically capable of figuring it out.  So they will keep trying and searching and thinking and trying some more...

...until they die.

Or until they find Jesus Christ. 

He said it himself -- He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life.

He is the only one that gives meaning to this life.


Are you looking to Him and only Him for the meaning in your life today?

Ecclesiastes 1:1-7 (Meaningless)

1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”

³ What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?





Do you ever wonder how to answer the question "What is the meaning of life?"   Well, according to Solomon here, that doesn't really matter because everything is meaningless.  What a way to start your day, huh?  The word "meaningless" occurs 39 times in this book, so get ready!  

Another key phrase is "under the sun" (which occurs 29 times) and whenever you see it remind yourself that it literally means "under the sun."  As you look up at the sun today, what is "under" it?  Well, everything else you see!  This entire world is "under" the sun.  This is really important to remember, because Solomon is searching for meaning on the Earth.  He is not talking about once we are habitants of Heaven. (Remember from yesterday, he may be writing this book for a non-believing audience).  Solomon's search is for our meaning while we live this life here under the sun.

He ends the above section with "What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?"  If you're like me, perhaps you sometimes feel that you're running a rat race.  One day rolls into the next: we get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, go to work, work all day, come home, do evening stuff, go to bed, and do it all over again.  Sound familiar?  What do we even gain from this?  What's the purpose?  After a lot of "the same," it's no wonder that people sense there must be some reason for all of this, or there must be something more.  Look around you -- you'll see men and women who at the core of their being are desperate for hope.  They want to know: What does this mean?  What does this all matter anyway?  So does Solomon.

Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.



Have you really stopped to think about that?  Generations come and generations go.  As I was reading this week, I was really struck anew with truly how little my life means on its own.  Just as the billions of people before me, people whose names I don't know, my life will end one day.  Within a generation or two, even my own ancestors won't know my name (except for maybe the one aunt who is really into geneology, but other than her, no one else will care). 

My mom absolutely loved her Grandma Dorothy.  I've heard stories, but as a child, I didn't know Grandma D, and I really didn't care to since I knew I'd never see her here (under the sun, anyway).  And I'm sure my great-grandchildren will feel the same way about me, because though I wish I might do something so famous that people will remember me forever, they won't.  Not even my own relatives.  And guess what, people will not remember you either.

Life is short.  We work really hard, and then we die.  All our stuff will be given to the next generation, and more than likely, they'll sell our house, purge our possessions, and spend the inheritance we left them.  We may want to be immortal, but in the end, we all lose everything. Then we are just a name who is mentioned at a Thanksgiving meal occasionally.  Yes, even you.  (I really fought this thought for a while before being able to accept it myself.)

By now, I'm sure you're thinking, Well Molly, this is really NOT uplifting.  Why are you doing this to me?  I didn't want to start my day thinking about my death!  Oh, but wait, there's more. 

So the generations come and go, but the Earth remains forever.  Here is what it does:

⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.
⁶ The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
⁷ All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.

Sounds cyclical to me.  Like a big machine that just keeps going, and going, and going.  And it does.  The earth does not depart from what it naturally does.  Nature does not applaud us and it does not reward us.  It just keeps going, doing what it does.  So we are all in this Earth cycle where nothing really changes and no one will remember us because we don't really matter that much.

Feeling like scum yet?  In case you think this is just an idea from Ecclesiastes, look at these three verses. God says to us, "From the ground you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).  "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I will depart" (Job 1:21).  "You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (James 4:14).

In and of ourselves, we are meaningless.  It has been this way for all of humanity.  Today, in our Facebook culture where everyone can be "famous," we are easily tricked into thinking that we are really important.  But, the truth is, under the sun, we are not......apart from God.

Here is the good news: As we will continue to see, it is Our Creator who gives us any value we may have.  For some reason unknown to us, in His grace and mercy toward us, He decided that He loves us so much that He would die for us to pay the penalty for our sin, the sin that occurs because we think we are so much better and valuable than we really are.

It is because of Him that we have any meaning at all or that we were ever even created!  And it is for Him that we then live out the rest of our days until we see Him face to face.

I don't mean to make you sad this morning, but I do hope to give us all a renewed perspective of how little we matter apart from God.  It's in our nature to think the world revolves around us, but it is so important that we realize that we are nothing, absolutely nothing, in and of ourselves.  

May we take this knowledge and be able to walk in humility today as we think about what a tiny spec we are in this vast universe and gratitude as we think of how much God undeservingly loves us.



Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes: An Introduction

When I see God someday, there are a few things I'd like to ask Him. 

Some of my questions are silly (like "Why mosquitoes?") and others are much more serious ("Why did you allow my mom to die so 'early'"?)  But more than likely when I see Him face to face for the first time, asking questions about this life will be the furthest thing from my mind during those first few minutes in eternity.

But I think it's safe to say that we all have a large amount of things we don't understand about life on this Earth.

Where is God when bad things happen? (i.e. natural disasters, school shootings)
How can I keep from becoming bitter toward God for not stopping these things?
How do I deal with the uncertainty of life?
What do I do when I'm not sure of God's will?
When bad things happen to me, is it because I don't have enough faith?
Are Christians supposed to have fun?

Well, guess what I'm learning.  God answers all of those questions for us in a book called Ecclesiastes...and that is the book I'd love for us to journey though next to start 2013!

Ecclesiastes is written most likely by King Solomon (the same man who wrote Proverbs and Song of Songs/Song of Solomon).  He loved God, but during a period of his life, he decided to find meaning apart from God.  If any man could do it, it would be Solomon because he had it all in terms of intelligence, industry, and accomplishments.  He sought to accumulate great wealth, discover knowledge, and experience pleasure -- in excess.  But even still, he was not able to discover the secret to this life on Earth...apart from God.

What I also learned about this book is that Solomon uses the word God (the Sovereign One) rather than the personal name of God, Yahweh.  Some scholars believe this is because he was writing this as much to non-believers as he was to the believers.

It's quite a piece of literature, too.  Solomon uses personification to portray Biblical wisdom as "The Teacher" or "The Preacher" (depending on your version of the Bible) throughout the book, and unlike the linear writing of our Western culture, Solomon writes in a spiral form as he continually comes back around to the same points.  So don't be confused when it seems that he's jumping from one thing to another with no rhyme or reason -- just remember, he's spiraling.

Life is messy.  It doesn't make sense to us much of the time.  And even those who love God don't end up with all the answers to their questions.  But this book, Ecclesiastes, will show us how to make it when God doesn't always meet our wandering and deviant expectations.

Now, I know you're busy.  But on Sunday, I read through the entire book of Ecclesiastes in one sitting, and it was wonderful!  It's not a very long book at all (took me about 30 minutes), and I really think it would give you an overview (as it did me) of what this book is going to be about.  So, if you can, grab a Bible sometime today and read it.  Or, here it is for you online:  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%201-12&version=NIV

Also, to help in this study, I will be using parts of the book The Problem of Life with God by Tommy Nelson.  The book is all about Ecclesiastes.

Well, we didn't get into the actual verses today, but I sure am excited to read this one!  I have never studied this book before in depth, and I can't wait to see what we learn!

Resolutions, Part 2 (Exodus 20:8-11)

There is something missing from my life, and more than likely, it's missing from yours, too.

In the hustle and bustle of our jobs and trying to stay on top, our electronic devices that we willingly allow to bombard us with images, needs, alerts, and celebrity drama, our family lives that consist of shuffling kids from a lesson to a practice to a tutor, our marriages that have gone from two ships passing in the night to no marriage at all, and a volunteer schedule that constantly asks us to do more, it's no wonder we are feeling more stressed than we ever have.

We are more busy, but less productive...in most areas of our lives.  Or at least, that's how I'd begun to feel in the past year.

I don't want to speak for you, but if you're willing to stop for five silent minutes alone -- no TV on, the phone is turned off and put in another room, no music playing (I know, you might forget what that even sounds like, and it might be a little scary) -- just you in a chair for five solid minutes of pure silence and solitude, I think you might discover what I've discovered. 

I'm exhausted.

For me, the problem is busy-ness.  Being busy makes me feel needed and important. So, I jam my schedule full of things that will keep me busy.  That's my problem.

Running from one meeting to another, from one coffee date to another, and from one church activity to another makes me feel that I have worth. (Because for me as a teacher, I know my worth won't come from the amount of money I make and as a married but child-less woman, I know my worth won't come from my kids and their cuteness or success.)  So, for me, I stay busy.  For you, it might be for money or for your kids or for the next promotion.  There's something that dangles your worth in front of you, but you will never catch it.  It's elusive.  But yet, we all keep trying to grab hold of it anyway.  And in the meantime, we are really, really, REALLY busy.

Where is the place for silence, solitude, and rest?  Well, perhaps they're not really needed.

Take a look at our society, too.  It echos the idea of more is better -- more gadgets, more information, more busy-ness.  "Everyone" has a Facebook account.  "Everyone" has Twitter.  "Everyone" watches reality TV and various shows that are popular right now.  "Everyone" keeps their kids' schedules full.  "Everyone" works seven days a week.  And I don't say this to point fingers at everyone else, because I'm guilty of it, too.  I have Facebook, and Twitter, and an iPhone, too.

But, something is missing.  Why do I never feel quite ready to head back to work on Mondays and do it all over again for another week, just like the week before? 

It's because every day is just like the rest.  And I have no rest.

So, this year, 2013, I am going to rest.  I'm going to have a Sabbath.

Not just sleep, but rest (which might include some sleep, too).

I am going to take God up on Commandment #4.  I am going to "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy."

Isn't it funny that it starts with the word Remember?  It's as if God knew that this would be the one we'd most easily forget.  I don't forget to not murder any one, but I do forget to Remember the Sabbath.

God invites us to rest for a whole day every week, to do whatever it is that revives our soul and draws us closer to Him -- guilt-free.  I can promise you, He doesn't mean one more day at the office.

Now, if you're a pastor, then Sundays are not your day of rest, but pick a different one -- Saturdays or Mondays -- because pastors need to rest the most after a week full of caring for others.

Just before the holiday season, I actually did this for two weeks in a row.  Just two.  Those two Sundays were two of the absolute best days of all of 2012 for me. 

On those two Sundays, I did go to church in the morning and enjoyed time worshiping God surrounded by people I love of all different ages who want to love God more, too.

I also had lunch afterwards with dear friends and/or family who are in my inner-circle.  They are people who I don't have to compete with, but people who want to encourage us and we them.  We enjoyed the flavors of wonderful food together and took our time at the table.

One of those Sundays, I went home and read in front of the fire place for a couple hours (magazines, a book, the Bible) then went for a walk with Josh and our dog, Marty.

The other week, we watched a football game together, and it was perfectly okay to feel the heaviness of my eyelids and give into it as our cat slept in my lap.

One of those evenings, we watched a movie and ate popcorn for dinner (with a glass of wine).  The other evening, we sat on the couch together and just talked for three hours...something, I'm sad to say we hadn't made the time to do in our own home for a good year or more! 

It was incredible.  Both of my Sabbaths were the most energy-giving days of the year.  I felt rested and ready to take on another week, feeling giddy that I'd get to do this all over again the next Sunday. 

And, I connected more with the ones I love than I had done in a long time.  I connected with God, with Josh, and with loved ones in a way that was deep and life-giving.  And I realized, this is what it is all about.  I had been absolutely terrified to be in a completely quiet house for more than five minutes, and for the first four minutes, it felt a little strange.  But then, as I sunk down in the chair, took a deep breath, and realized that the world doesn't really need me today (or any day), a weight was lifted that I had been carrying for the past five years...or more.  I can rest.  And this is good.

In my quest to understand the Sabbath better, this month, I read an incredible book by Matthew Sleeth, MD (a former ER chief turned author and non-profit creator) called 24/6 where he talks about what it means to take God up on the offer of a weekly Sabbath.  Really, the Sabbath is a command -- one of the ten -- but it's not meant to be a difficult one to bear.  It truly is a gift from God -- He commands us to stop.  Just stop.  Just stop for a day, and look in a new direction, away from labor and work.  The book is absolutely incredible!  It's a quick, easy read full of wonderful stories/examples as well as practical advice.  I cannot recommend it enough to you.

In this book, Sleeth reminds us that if the average person lives to be 70 years old (and God commands us to rest 1 of every 7 days) that would mean that 10 years of our 70 years on this earth are meant to be Sabbath rest!  TEN YEARS OF REST!

So what happens, he says, when we miss 10 years of something -- of eating, of exercising, of sleeping?  There will be dire consequences.  And so it is without a Sabbath.  Just look around us -- little relationship, little sleep, little peace and much stress, much anxiety, and much separation.

Sabbath is a gift from God to us, meant to give us rest, connection, restoration, and pleasure.  But God also knows that without it, we will not be the best that He intended us to be.  In fact, without rest on a Sabbath, we are not only disobeying what He has commanded, but we are also missing out on some of the greatest moments of our lives. 

So, this year on Sundays, I will not be on my phone, or Facebook, or Twitter.  I will not be grading papers (I'll have to get that done on the other six days).  I will not be shopping at the mall (because consumerism will kill the peace of Sabbath in an instant). I will not be watching my normal TV shows (but a football game, well, nothing helps me to sleep faster).

This year, on Sundays, I will be worshiping with my church, eating flavorful foods, drinking some wine, laughing with my family, sleeping in a bit, talking with Josh about how we're really doing, walking through our neighborhood with Marty on the leash and Josh by my side, listening to God as I silently sit still before Him, renewing my mind with the reading of Scripture in our sun room, sitting a little longer after a meal, jogging on the Monon trail and soaking up the beautiful trees and the smell of fresh air, thinking about what I really want to focus on that week, and resting from work (whatever work is to me in that season of life).

What about you?  What would you do with a whole day that revolves around rest, peace, pleasure,  a little solitude and a little community?  What does a day without work look like to you?

This will require some intentionality and some planning ahead, that's true.  But I wonder if those of us who take God up on the gift of a Sabbath will look back at 2013 as the year I started really living.

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy."  Exodus 20:8-11

Molly Monroe

On the Dreaded Word: Resolutions

I hate the word 'resolution'.  Seeing it or hearing it this time of year makes me cringe.  I've never been one to make any.  And this week, I've found this stance regarding resolutions to be unfortunate on my part. 

The reason I've never liked them is that I've never kept them.  And since I dislike feeling like a failure, I've just resigned to not make them at all.  (If it sounds like I'm pouting, I am.)

But it's my own fault, really.  In the past, I've given myself a list of five things I want to work on in the new year.  Big things.  Resolutions like: Love God more.  Be a better wife to Josh.  Spend more time with those closest to me.  Eat less.  Exercise more.

In and of themselves, they are all great things to work on.  But the problems are that:
1) There are too many.  No one can focus on five things at once and be successful.  It's just not possible in our already jam-packed lives.

2) They are too broad.  How can I have a plan to "love God more" or "be a better wife to Josh"?  They are so wide and deep that I drown in those statements.  And, inevitably, I give up because the end point is so far away and so fuzzy.

3) There is no plan of success established.  Sure I can try to exercise more, but if I don't establish in advance how and when and why I'm going to do this new thing, then my schedule will remain the same as it always was, and 'running' will not  become a new part of my schedule.

4)  For me, they can tend to be very selfish.  I want to be ______ so I look better.  I want to be ______ so others will think I am better.   Thinking about myself all the time and comparing myself to others is exhausting.  But this time, what about making a resolution so that God looks better?

So, this year, I have made one resolution.  Just one.  And I have a specific plan on how I'm going to do it.  It is a rather broad statement, but I have a very established plan of HOW I'm going to do it, WHEN I'm going to do it, and especially WHY I'm going to do it.

Last night, I was with a dear friend, Katie.  She asked me if I had any "challenges" for myself for 2013.  I liked that word.  It was much less intimidating to me than the words "resolutions" or "goals."  It signifies less of a perfect endpoint and more of a wholesome, growing journey that is only against myself -- not against the perfect model bodies in the magazines, not against the friend in my life who has the 'perfect' relationship with their spouse.  It's just me.  Trying to be a better person today than I was yesterday.

All to the glory of God.

I'll let you in on my "2013 Personal Challenge to the Glory of God" tomorrow, but until then, why don't we narrow down our lists of "Be Better in 2013"...and just pick one.  Make a plan.  Do it for Christ.

Maybe, for once, we won't have failed at all of them by February 1st.



Molly Monroe