Years ago I worked as a chaplain in a local hospital trauma center. Looking back, I can say those years introduced me to some of my life’s most intense learning experiences. I can no longer pass by a hospital without thinking about the intensity of what goes on behind those walls every day. The cycle of life and death is always more pronounced in a hospital setting.
As a chaplain, the reality of that cycle impressed me every day. On any given day, I would share moments of great joy with families as they celebrated the birth of a healthy baby, applauded the news of a successful surgery, or rejoiced as their family was being discharged. Moments later, I would find myself in another part of the hospital with families experiencing grief and intense sadness over an unsuccessful surgery or the death of a loved one.
I was reminded of my hospital experience during a recent daily devotion that came from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. Most scholars believe Solomon, king of Israel, wrote this book near the end of his rule around 935 B.C. Solomon’s recorded wisdom caused me to pause and reflect on my own life experiences.
Near the end of his kingship, King Solomon intentionally reflected on life between the boundaries of birth and death. His observations led him to conclude “All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The Hebrew word “havel” is translated as “vanity” in English, meaning smoke and mirrors. He observed that a person works her/his life to obtain possessions, pleasures, and status, but, at death, all is lost (Ecclesiastes 1:3-4).
According to the Bible, Solomon was the wisest, richest, and most powerful man in the world during his lifetime. Take careful note, King Solomon, a man who had everything a man could desire or hope for, concluded all this was vanity. Money, power, and possessions were at his fingertips. He lacked nothing, yet he realized all of this was meaningless. Nothing had eternal value. What a powerful awareness!
That brings me to the Bible verse for today. “To everything, there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). For everything has “a time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). Everything has a purpose and a time limit. Life has a season, as well as, possessions, good times, and suffering. Solomon teaches us that men who live according to their own thoughts, using their powers of reasoning, and guided by their personal desires, will find life meaningless. It cannot last.
Solomon concludes his study and determines a meaningful, purposeful, and joy-filled life can only come by trusting in a divinely appointed purpose-filled life. God’s plan for man, from earth’s Creation, is that man should have eternal life. Yet man’s sin, disobeying God’s command not to eat the forbidden fruit, determined there would be suffering and that all should die. Every decision we make provides the choice to eat from the Tree of Life or the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Everything under the sun has a time and purpose, including you and me. Everything in your life and mine, either bad or good, has a season. Solomon’s work led him to understand life is short and that all human flesh will taste suffering and death. But God is eternal. His plans are to relieve our suffering and save us from eternal death. He offers us meaningful life now and a promise of eternity if we obey Him. Exercising faith in God is the only way to find personal meaning. Solomon decides to accept the fact that life is short and ultimately worthless without God.
Solomon’s reflections and conclusions provided us with the motivation to examine our life in the same way. What are my desires and purposes? Do suffering and hardship have meaning? How does this awareness shape my life? In a way, Solomon points us to Jesus’ advice offered in the Sermon on the Mount.
19“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV). The cycle of life and death is broken when we seek God’s free gift of eternity
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. How does Solomon’s conclusion that everything under the sun has a season touch your life? Do his thoughts about self-satisfaction say anything to you about your own life? You can reach me at: terry@mcbchurch.live.