Wednesday
Ecclesiastes 2:14
"The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them."
Later in that second chapter, the Preacher (the wise Solomon) says"...so I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind."
The "same event" happens to us whether we are as wise as Solomon, or a fool, who walks in darkness, never knowing into which pot-hole his next step will take him. That same event is death. For no matter whether we conduct ourselves wisely, and with judiciousness, or live a life of debauchery, in the end we all die. We share this fate with all living things. With animals. We breathe the same air as they.
And there is nothing new under the sun. So what are we to make of our Christian lives? On this Wednesday of Holy Week, when Christ was preparing for the agony he was to endure on Friday, does any of what we do matter? Will anything of our lives be remembered after we are dead?
We will fare better in life if we do not give ourselves over to foolish or addictive pursuits. Certainly the way of light is better than stumbling blindly in the dark. But in the final analysis, the most important, the only important pursuit in our lives is our close personal relationship with God. Even our "good works" can be viewed by ourselves with vain pride, and can be a source of alienation from God. What He wants most from us is to be close to Him. To seek Him in prayer, to hold him in our hearts, to cherish Him as our Best Friend!
Melinda Pearse
Ecclesiastes 2:14
"The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them."
Later in that second chapter, the Preacher (the wise Solomon) says"...so I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind."
The "same event" happens to us whether we are as wise as Solomon, or a fool, who walks in darkness, never knowing into which pot-hole his next step will take him. That same event is death. For no matter whether we conduct ourselves wisely, and with judiciousness, or live a life of debauchery, in the end we all die. We share this fate with all living things. With animals. We breathe the same air as they.
And there is nothing new under the sun. So what are we to make of our Christian lives? On this Wednesday of Holy Week, when Christ was preparing for the agony he was to endure on Friday, does any of what we do matter? Will anything of our lives be remembered after we are dead?
We will fare better in life if we do not give ourselves over to foolish or addictive pursuits. Certainly the way of light is better than stumbling blindly in the dark. But in the final analysis, the most important, the only important pursuit in our lives is our close personal relationship with God. Even our "good works" can be viewed by ourselves with vain pride, and can be a source of alienation from God. What He wants most from us is to be close to Him. To seek Him in prayer, to hold him in our hearts, to cherish Him as our Best Friend!
Melinda Pearse
RSS Feed
