Ecclesiastes 1:14 "I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind."
Hello again, world--at least, those of you who will read this.It's interesting that I find myself here again after so much time. Even more so to me is that this whole idea for a blog came out of an Easter service at my church and once again it's Easter and my 2.5 year writer's block has lifted. I do not even know whether I'm doing this more for myself or for the small chance that someone might read this and be encouraged. From where I sit at the moment, it's possibly just one way I'm connecting with God this Easter Saturday morning.
The book of Ecclesiastes has somewhat been a question mark on the pages of my heart for some time. Sure, it has jewels scattered throughout, but it seems largely devoid of the hope I find elsewhere in the Bible. Why would God want this book filled with angst and (seemingly) hopeless questioning included within the canon of Scripture? Since I believe 2 Timothy 3:16, my heart whispers, Surely there must be something I'm missing.
Here lies my confession--part of the reason I have not written here in so long. See, I've been in this "on again-off again" relationship with pride. In my humanness, it seems to mostly be "on again." Part of my pride complex is this irritatingly persistent struggle I have with fear. Mostly, fear of how people will view me--mostly in connection with my faith--even though I say my faith means everything to me. The fact that I post this to Facebook and don't really know who will read it after that stirs a nervousness inside me. I care about a lot of people who might not agree with things I write here.
And yet, in the time I haven't been blogging, God has been doing wonderful things inside my heart. I want people to know the hope, for themselves, that I have found. It's a hope I've found within the pages of the Bible and I believe every word of it points to the Savior this whole Easter season is intended to celebrate.
Enter Ecclesiastes--where's the hope in "all is vanity..."?
I decided to read a commentary on Ecclesiastes 4 this morning and my entire view of the book has been changed. Two different authors suggested that the premise for Ecclesiastes is the fact that the writer (possibly King Solomon himself) is judging everything he is seeing from an "under the sun" perspective. His focus is on this lifetime and the lack of purpose there seems to be in the world when one considers things like injustice, death and lack of lasting satisfaction. The phrase "under the sun" shows up over 25 times in this book--which means there is a whole lot in this book concerned with this lifetime.
No wonder he sounds depressed and hopeless. Our broken and hurting world leaves a whole lot to be desired. The problem is, how many of us are looking to fill that desire for more with things "under the sun"? According to the writer of this book, he had access to everything he could have ever wanted and still found his heart wanting and questioning.
Whether or not what follows is a proper theological train of thought or not, I don't know, but I want to share with you a connection I made in Scripture this morning which has shown me the thread of hope woven into Ecclesiastes.
It says in Matthew 27:45 that the sun was darkened during the crucifixion. Some people say it was an eclipse, but whatever the cause, there was no sunshine for a period of time Jesus hung on the cross. If we had been there that day, we may not have seen the sun, but the Son of God would have been seen hanging on the cross. Whether or not this is what was on God's mind during the time, I cannot say, but this is the thought that came to mind as I considered these things: The moment Jesus took our sin, the cross transcended our "under the sun" world described in Ecclesiastes. It's the cross that gives hope beyond the "vanity" of this lifetime. The cross creates a bridge past our world towards Heaven.
We need to look past the sun towards the Son.
Many, many people have a hard time accepting the terrible things happening in this world "if there is a God." I don't blame them. However, the terrible things in this lifetime are a big reason why I cling so very tightly to my Savior. I believe he will make it all right one day with complete justice. Without Him I have no hope. Then why does he wait to make it right?
He wants you to have hope too.
