Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
Being a Christian doesn’t make time go any slower. God, through the psalmist, exhorts us to “remember how short [our] time is!” (Psalm 89:47). But we live life under the sun with an over-the-sun perspective. Each moment is a gift from God to be used to honor him.
Solomon decided to take truth into his own hands. He determined what was the best course to take for himself, what made the most sense to him, and what was right and wrong for him personally. He might change his mind tomorrow. But for today, he settled his feelings and thoughts on pursuing his own course of action. This is a textbook example of postmodernism, a philosophy that permeates our present day.
Solomon explains that man’s existence should be defined by honoring, loving, respecting, and obeying God. That is where we find our true identity. Our spiritual identity cannot be lost because it comes from Jesus.
Paul writes that if God isn’t who he says he is, and this life is all there is, then by all means, “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32). But Solomon found that hedonism was like chasing after the wind. The target of satisfaction was never hit because God is who he says he is, and this life is not all there is.
Under the umbrella of naturalism is atheism (there is no God), materialism (satisfy yourself with things), and humanism (man is the center of the universe). And, of course, from this mindset flows evolution, abortion, and euthanasia. Man can do whatever man wants to do because we are the ones in charge.
Solomon’s teaching on wisdom always leads us back to God’s Word—the source of spiritual wisdom and understanding. There we learn of a God who loves us with unconditional love and embraces us through the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross. Our union with Jesus changes everything.
I like to think of Ecclesiastes as Solomon’s journal. He is reflecting over a long life and clearly communicating that without God, life doesn’t make sense. We live under the sun but need an over the sun perspective for things to fit together.
If you must know the answer to every question about life and God before trusting in him, guess what? You will never trust in him. One thing we do know about the future is that death is certain. Here’s the main question. When your body has breathed its final breath, where will your soul go?
The “best” life. The life of the world’s heroes, those we look up to while we live under the sun, is grievous. When you finally get to where you think you want to go and get ready to grab what you’ve been chasing, you find that nothing is there. It is like striving after the wind. But…Jesus changes everything.
Solomon did not oppose doing things that count. He wasn’t against inventions, creativity, and people trying to make a difference. But Solomon is a realist. Whether you invest your time in work that is significant or whether you squander your days, the wise man and the fool are soon forgotten. After you die, your name is mentioned less and less.
Every day is someone’s last day. But for those who know Jesus as my dad did, our final day on earth becomes our first day in heaven. When believers are absent from the body, they are present with the Lord. So, here is the one question on life’s exam you must know the answer to. When your body is in a box under the sun, where will your soul be?
We know that education is essential in getting out of the slums, and we also know that a high score on placement exams does not transform the human heart. Without Jesus, the more we know, the sadder we become. But with Jesus, we can use the gift of knowledge to worship and honor him all our days under the sun.