Discover His heart: He rewards our obedience to Him with eternal life in heaven
My husband and I are avid readers. While he manages to read five books at a time, a little here and there until he has finished them, I enjoy reading one book at a time and giving it my full attention. A real treat for me that doesn’t happen often enough is reading a well-written novel. I have a friend who pages ahead occasionally to find out what’s going to happen and has been known to read the end of the book first. I worry about individuals who do this. There’s nothing like a plot building, collecting all its intricate parts and then exploding at the end with a grand finale. Who would want to ruin that by reading ahead? Almost like a novelist, Solomon has been building a story in Ecclesiastes, and today we read his grand finale.
We’ve read through some rather dark moments in Solomon’s life over the last twelve chapters: “Everything is meaningless,’ says the Teacher, ‘completely meaningless! …Everything is wearisome beyond description…all meaningless—like chasing the wind.” (1:1,14) Solomon had tried everything on earth to bring meaning to his life, but nothing worked. After years of searching, he finally came to this conclusion, “So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him.” (2:24-26) Everything is fleeting, at best, apart from the eternal God.
Solomon also brought us words of encouragement and understanding, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven,” (3) and “To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.” (5:20) We can toil and strive to get ahead of God’s plans for us, but Solomon concluded that living in our moment and accepting His timing will bring the most peace during our brief stint on earth.
@ Ecclesiastes 12 – The Grand Finale
“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” (13-14) Living with unbridled devotion to the One who created us and gives us breath, never assuming that role as our own, is the very least we can do to show our love and respect to God. Obedience is a natural result of our devotion to Him. Whether it’s our job, our family or sports, if we’re devoted to it, we are going to play by the rules.
Solomon’s statement that God will judge everything we do should confirm in our hearts that eternal life is inevitable otherwise there would be no need for judgment. “He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” (3:11) Our hearts yearn for that day when we will live with God for all eternity as recorded in the Revelation. I must admit, the Bible is one book where I’ve paged ahead to see how it ends, and guess what? For those who love God, it’s all good!
Moving Forward: With a heart of devotion to Him, I move through this day in obedience to His commands, ever mindful of my eternal home.
Tomorrow @ Malachi
Phyllis Benigas 