We have been journeying through the book of Ecclesiastes for the past few episodes, and today we will be finishing by giving an overview of the remaining chapters, as well as reflecting on what it all means...both Ecclesiastes and life!
We will see that the preacher continues to wrestle and struggle through the frustrating and confusing aspects of life, but we get a deeper understanding of what he wants us to take from his message. The preacher continues to have an echo of sadness over the reality of all of life leading to death, and yet, the preacher knows there is eternal life and the only solution to this problem of death is turning to God before it’s too late. And turning to God doesn’t just make eternal life meaningful, it makes the here and the now meaningful through an eternal lens. From the life-changing decision to the mundane, all things are being made beautiful in its time, and all things are meaningful through God.
And Jesus’ death captures this tension that the preacher conveys, the horrible reality of death against the beautiful reality of eternal life. And the way to fulfill this desire for eternity that we all long for is in Jesus. He is our answer. And as the preacher pleads with those he preaches to, don’t delay. Don’t avoid the topic and reality of death, the frustrations of life. They point to our need for God and a Savior to rescue us from a meaningless life. Even those of us who have a relationship with God, the reality of how short life is should beckon us to ask ourselves, What am I truly living for? We don’t want to get to the end of our life and have an echo of regret and sadness like the preacher. Life is more meaningful and joyful through doing things that matter for eternity. Now is the time.
“Only one life, twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”- C.T. Studd
Recommended Resources:
The man who was saved through Ecclesiastes (watch here): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v3_aQLbddyc
Book of Ecclesiastes Summary | Watch an Overview Video (bibleproject.com)
Ecclesiastes Bible Reading Plan: She loves bible
Better: How Jesus Satisfies the Search for... by Chaddick, Tim (amazon.com)
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