READ: Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
Verses
chosen for meditation: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 The end of the matter;
all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the
whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed
into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
REFLECT
The
preacher started the book with the futility of life, through the lens of a
person going through life without an eternal perspective. He brought up
observable facts of life familiar to all, to answer the question of whether God
matters, not whether He exists. Now at the book’s conclusion, the answer to that
question is obvious in its closing verses, giving insight into the meaning of
life, and how to approach life.
The
premise set for much of the book is common to many, one where people question
the purpose of their toiling, pulling their hairs out over where it all leads
to. It is one where people lament about the brevity of life and how fleeting it
is. However, we come to see that this premise is incomplete, as it did not take
into account eternal perspectives and our connection with God.
This
does not mean that much of the book is bogus. Instead, it lends an important
perspective that firstly, this premise, though false to Christians, is true for
much of the world who do not have this connection with God the way we do. Life
is strenuous, hopeless and pointless to many of them, so how do we help them
see it is not so? Secondly, if we feel the same, we should ask
whether we have approached life correctly with eternal perspectives.
In
v13-14, it took a 180° turn from the view that life is all vanity and
meaningless. On the contrary, nothing goes unnoticed and unassessed, as God
will bring every deed into judgement. Rather than seeing this verse with apprehension
(the word judgement often scares us), we should rejoice that every action of
ours has meaning. If God cares as much as this, nothing is pointless! Every good
work, even if unrecognised, or secret act (good or bad) is under the watchful
eye of our Father, and it means something.
RELATE
Life
is indeed bleak without God, but there is a God and He matters. The secret to
living life fully is in v13. Many seek the secret to happiness, looking towards
pretty much everything except God, when the answer is fearing God and obeying
Him. He designed life to be that way, where in following his commands, we enjoy
his blessings fully. Doing so prevents us from being a slave to other idols
which make us chase things that will never satisfy our soul.
This
is like a parent offering healthy food to a child for his well-being, but he doesn’t
know better and turns to other less healthy food that gives him more pleasure. Some
food in themselves are not bad, but taking in too much (making that food his idol) while
totally rejecting the nourishing food becomes the problem. So he refuses to eat
his broccoli and cauliflowers (not a good example since some of you like them),
but binge eats on chocolates and chips, leading him to have falling teeth and
setting him on the road to diabetes.
Our
faith journey may be similar, not knowing what’s best for us, which is to obey
God, but turning to our idols. The difference is that whilst broccoli genuinely
tastes bad to the boy, bringing him only pain, obeying God can taste good and
bring us joy, while gaining earthly and eternal benefits along the way.
Ecclesiastes
gives a picture of such a life, bringing meaning, fulfilment and
contentment. In concrete terms, it calls us to:
- trust
in God’s goodness and his providence for our needs,
- receive
the gifts of life with thankfulness,
- learn
how to enjoy those modest gifts,
- understand
the major part of God’s plan for us,
- carry
out that plan with relish and joy even when parts of life remain a mystery.
Though
life is fleeting and we look towards eternity, Ecclesiastes teaches us to make the
best of what remains of it, accepting and enjoying the lot that God has given
us without being envious of others or chasing what may not be ours to have. When
we’re able to accept our lot with gratitude, we may even realise the abundance
of it, and we start to share.
REST
Father, thank you for the gift of life. Give me a
heart of gratitude for whatever I receive, even the problems and pain. You reserve
the right to determine my lot, and my response is to make the best of it.
Remind me of that each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Chris Chong
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