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Joy to the World by John Piper – Advent Day 4

04 Dec

2 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

Luke 2:1-5

Dear God, I like that John Piper paused here before Jesus was born just to spend a little time with Mary and Joseph before Jesus was physically in their presence.

I remember the time before our first son was born. There was so much anticipation. I told my wife over and over again, “I just can’t wait to meet him.” He was so close and yet so far. I can’t imagine what Mary’s and Joseph’s anticipation was like. What would it be like to meet your son? The Messiah? Sure, they didn’t understand the purpose of his incarnation, but they understood who he was. What would he look like? Would he glow? How would they raise him? What were their responsibilities in educating him? So many questions for this young couple.

And then there might have been doubts–at least on Joseph’s part. Did he really hear the angel right? He had been asleep after all. Was it just a dream? Was he being played by Mary? I would have doubted if I had been him.

So they traveled to Bethlehem as a newly married couple and found a place to live for the short-term. Where was that? I have imagined it was a camp for the others like them on the edge of town. They were poor. They probably couldn’t afford regular lodging. Well, we know they couldn’t because we will find out later that while they were there and Joseph tried to find a reasonable place for her to give birth there was nothing available. So they had to use the unreasonable. Their tent with a manger brought in as a crib? Maybe. Maybe it was in a barn, but that seems like a weird choice given their options. Either way, they were solving problems as a couple for the first time. They were ignorant. They had no idea what they had gotten into or what was ahead of them. They just knew they were seemingly part of something extraordinary.

How does this apply to my life? Well, I remember the ignorance of that time in my life. Thinking back on it reminds me that I am still ignorant. I think I know so much, but I don’t. I don’t know what you are doing right now. I look around my life, and I celebrate a lot of it, but there are parts I lament as well. I don’t know how it all fits together. I don’t know what you are doing in my little, insignificant life that is just one of over 6 billion in this world right now. What this story about Mary and Joseph makes me think about this morning is that it was okay that they were ignorant, and it is okay that I am ignorant now. I don’t have to know what is going on. They didn’t either. They just had to be faithful. I just have to be faithful. What is it you have me to do today?

Father, I give this day to you. Love through me. Live through me. Heal me and those I love from our sorrow. Comfort us. Let your truth reign. Bring to light what is hidden so that we might all be healed, and then take that healing and offer it to others who need the healed version of us. But I also want to thank you for how you are not wasting this pain. Thank you for using it to shape me into something that is more humble, compassionate, and loving.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 4, 2024 in Advent 2024, Luke

 

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Matthew 8:5-13

02 Dec

5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”

7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 11 And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12 But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.

Matthew 8:5-13

Dear God, I was reading something from Tony Campolo yesterday out of Red Letter Revolution: What if Jesus Really Meant what He Said? about Jesus being your presences among us. You are the God of the Old Testament, triaging the continual mistakes of the Israelites, but when Jesus showed up, he showed us who you really are. You are loving and compassionate, but you also do not suffer hypocrisy. This story is an example. When this powerful human approached you, he found a God who respected and appreciated his humility and faith. You also, I think, liked the fact that he was there out of compassion for his servant (slave?) and not for himself.

My wife and I were talking while we drove to family for Thanksgiving, and while we were talking about you I mentioned to her that I know you are good and loving because the closer I get to you the more loving and compassionate, without judgment, I find myself being. You put on skin. You didn’t only show up to live and be a sacrifice, but you shared through our own paradigm of life through a human life lived what your nature is. You are amazing. You are good. I’m so grateful for a God who loves and forgives.

Father, thank you that you have as much compassion on me this morning as you had through Jesus’s earthly body on that centurion 2,000 years ago. I am grateful for your love. Help me to share that love with others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 2, 2024 in Matthew

 

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“It’s a Quest…For God.”

01 Dec

Dear God, I want to quote the movie Jesus Revolution. I was thinking about it this morning after I just saw a headline on my news feed from a reddit thread called “Am I the A*****?” It’s a place online where people bring their anger and hatred and look for redemption and affirmation among others who are angry and bitter. For some reason, when I saw it I thought back to this scene in Jesus Revolution. This is just a little clip, but it doesn’t have everything I was looking for. It cuts off just a little too soon:

Lonnie Frisbee is talking to Chuck Smith, the more traditional pastor. He’s explaining the hippies to Chuck:

“It reminds me of the words of Jesus: ‘To what then can I compare this generation? What are they like?’

“I was up in San Francisco for long time, living in in Haight Ashbury. In the Streets. All over. Man, we did everything and everyone. But that was the point. You see, the drugs. It’s a quest…For God.”

I look around me now as I enter this season of advent and I see people putting their faith in so many things. It might not be drugs. It might be a politician or political power. It might be money. It might be sex. And those idols start to let them down so they get angry. They get so angry. That’s what it feels like to me right now. It feels like I see so many people who are angry, and they are looking for you. They just don’t know they are looking for you.

My wife and I were talking yesterday about different forms of prosperity gospel. Some are more obvious and some more subtle. The more obvious ones say, “Do X and God will give you success.” Usually money. The more subtle ones will tell you that there is a formula for a successful life. This is one I bought into for a while until I was disillusioned. I was worshipping you, but I expected you to deliver me the family life I wanted. I wasn’t as focused on career, but I had an ideal of what a family could and should be, and I was incredibly disappointed in you when it didn’t turn out that way.

Of course, the reaction to an idol that disappoints us isn’t always anger. It can be depression too. Isn’t it interesting that more people in developed countries need antidepressants than those who live in undeveloped nations? We have everything at our fingertips while the person in the undeveloped nation has to struggle for something as basic as clean water. And yet we are the ones who suffer from anxiety at a higher rate. My uneducated guess is that they simply don’t have time to worry. They just struggle. It’s also interesting that those are the areas of the world where your church is growing. I know I always grow more when I am struggling.

So now I am waiting on Jesus during this season of Advent. I feel like I should maybe be doing something special here like I did with Lent. I’m not sure what that is, however. I have a devotion on the way that I will see if it helps. That’s what I did for Lent. But I know I want to continue to root out my own idols, expose them, reject them, and banish them. I want to be at peace with the path you have for me. I want to be willing to risk everything for you. Not my family, of course, because they are your highest calling to me. But if doing what you want me to do costs me reputation, money, comfort, security, etc., then I want to be willing to put that on the table. Thoughtfully. Prayerfully. Intentionally. I want to do exactly what you want me to do. Use the next 25 days to transform me into the next step of who you want me to be.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 1, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Matthew 4:18-22

30 Nov

18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.

21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

Dear God, I’m in a hurry this morning, but I have to start my day this way before I go. I have to touch hands with you. Touch hearts with you. Touch minds with you. Touch my soul to you. I have to be reminded that your Holy Spirit is with me right now. I have to start from this perspective before I get going. So here I am. I’m here to stop for at least a few moments to acknowledge you are my God. You are everything.

And now, Father, send me into this world. Following my prayer yesterday, make me a fisher of men. Help me to offer them Jesus. And it’s the Jesus that’s not the lesser of two evils, but the Jesus who loves me and offers me life. If I lose my life for him, I will gain it. If my neighbor loses their life for you, they will gain it (Matthew 10:39). Help me to take that message with me as I go through this day. And cover my wife and me, please, angels of the Lord.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 30, 2024 in Matthew

 

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Revelation 14:14-20

26 Nov

14 Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

15 Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.” 16 So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.

17 After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.

Revelation 14:14-20

Dear God, the harvest is the end of the world. That’s actually the name of a song by Charlie Peacock that I just thought of as I started to write this: “The Harvest is the End of the World.”

This song doesn’t necessarily line up with this specific passage, but it includes angels with their sickles so it’s at least adjacent to this passage. My wife and I gravitated to this song because it came out a year after our miscarriage and right when our son was born. As we thought about the daughter we lost and the son we were gaining, this part of the song really struck us:

I see angels in the distance
In the distance, I see angels
And their shadows fall
Like crosses on the fields
Some are swinging low the sickles
Some are binding up the sheaves
Some are sifting out the harvest yield

Rachel, run to join the angels
In the harvest in the distance
Rising from your bed as from a dream
In the feint and splintered line
Where the wheat field meets the sky
You might find your sorrow made complete

To quote another song, “Lord, I don’t know where all this is going or how it all turns out. Lead me to peace that passes understanding. A peace beyond all doubt.” I have concerns. I have sorrows. I have things that burden me. Help me to lean on you as part of this. Help me to trust you when it seems like things are going in ways I do not like. Help me to turn loose of my idols and look to you as my only source of peace and comfort. Help me to repent when I need to repent, serve when I need to serve, and listen when I need to listen. Help me to worship you well throughout my entire being. Then I will let the end of the world happen as you have ordained it and go through whatever you’ve decided I must go through.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 26, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Revelation

 

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Luke 20:27-40

23 Nov

27 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. 28 They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.[c] 29 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 30 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died. 31 Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, who died without children. 32 Finally, the woman also died. 33 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her!”

34 Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth. 35 But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.

37 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”

39 “Well said, Teacher!” remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there. 40 And then no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Luke 20:27-40

Dear God, I really love my wife. I mean, she is unbelievably important to me. I enjoy her. I like her. I cannot imagine life without her. After 35 years of knowing each other, we still spend huge amounts of time talking and sharing with each other. And it breaks my heart to know that the odds are that one of us will die before the other. So I am one of those who would want to know what our relationship will be like on the other side of our earthly existence. Will she be my wife in your kingdom? The idea that she won’t disappoints me a little. But then I read passages like the one I did a couple of days ago in Revelation 4, about the 24 elders worshipping you and I think, “Of course! Anything I know now won’t even be enough to pale in comparison to what I know then! She will be there, but our existence will be on a completely different level than I can comprehend.”

So that leads me to the trap of getting distracted by tomorrow. I start to get defensive about the things that I like about my life and try to protect them from ending instead of staying in the moment. What you have for me is completely different than what the world has for me. What you have for me in this moment might be compromised by my desire to preserve what I think I want in the next moment. I make decisions out of self-preservation all of the time. And sometimes, they might get in the way of what you want me to do.

I was watching a movie last night, and I watched characters take principled stands against injustice. It is possible that I might be asked to take a principled stand against injustice one day soon that will cost me. Am I willing to pay that price? Do I truly consider my life worth nothing to me (Act 20:24)?

Father, I don’t know where all of this is going or how it all works out. I don’t know when you might need me to stand up for others and sacrifice myself in the process. And I don’t know what that sacrifice looks like. But I know that you are so–and I mean SO–much more than I can imagine or my situations. You are SO much more than my earthly or even eternal life. You are God. I don’t need to be equal to you. I don’t have any standing to even ask anything of you, much less demand anything. I am grateful for what I have in this moment. I am sad about the things I want that I don’t have, but I will not let that sadness or disappointment keep me from recognizing you, worshipping you, and offering all that I am for all that you are.

I offer this feeble, humble prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 23, 2024 in Luke

 

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Luke 19:41-44

21 Nov

41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

Luke 19:41-44

Dear God, I wonder how things would have been different if they had recognized the time of your visitation. What if everyone had gotten on board. The Pharisees. The priests. The Levites. The common people. What if the disciples, even, had really understood what you were teaching them? What would that have looked like?

Sometimes, I think we are trying to answer that question as the church today, and different churches are coming up with different answers. Some churches want to forcibly bring your kingdom upon the earth, which I perceive is the mistake the Pharisees of the time were making. Some are silent and just quietly worship you without bothering anyone. Those churches are largely dying from old age and attrition. Some are screaming for justice, which is a legitimate cry because there is so much injustice, but it might also distract them from considering their lives worth nothing to them (see Acts 20:24). And then I do believe there are a few churches that are literally doing what they can to follow the radical teachings of Jesus. They love their neighbors. The meet needs. They worship you. They forgive. The eschew hate and lust. They consider the lilies and don’t worry. They give freely of their time and money.

What would it be like if every church in the world, or even in our community, really lived out the Sermon on the Mount? How would we be helping parents raise their children? How would we be helping the school? How would we be working with the prisoners and the courts? How would we be worshipping you so purely and letting your Spirit and its fruit grow so much within us that we would be a beacon that attracts others?

As for me, if I lean toward any of these categories on a personal level, it is probably the kind that silently and quietly worships you. Yes, I volunteer for some things. Yes, I donate to some things. Yes, I talk to those around me about my faith and how I’m living it out. But I’m not really leading people to you. I’m not teaching worship of you. I’m not teaching the fruits that grow from loving you and loving our neighbors.

Father, it was impossible for the people of Jesus’s time to recognize your visitation because 1.) they weren’t ready for that kind of humility and 2.) it wouldn’t have worked with your plan. Maybe that’s one reason you chose that time and place. And it can be hard now to understand what we would do differently if this were the time of your visitation. Would we put you on cable news and have you lead us to power? Would we reject you for your humility when you refused to do it? Yes and yes. But I worship you, now. I thank you now. Help me to love, forgive, serve, and worship well today. And help me to share that faith with others so that they might develop closer relationships with you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 21, 2024 in Luke

 

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Revelation 4:1-11

20 Nov

4 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. 3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. 4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. 6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.

In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. 7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
    the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
    to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
    and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

Revelation 4:1-11

Dear God, my worship of you is pathetic. And I don’t care how much I would be able to ratchet it up. Compared to this, it would be pathetic.

You know I don’t read too much in Revelation, but since this was the New Testament reading for the Catholic church today I thought I would go ahead and sit with it a bit. Reading it through, I was seeing the descriptions of the different beings and thinking, “Why do I need to know this in my life today?” when it got to the end of the description of the four beings and said starting in 8b:

Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
    the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
    to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
    and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

I mean, I could spend every day, 24/7, attempting this, and it would still never come close to this amount of worship of you. The amount of worship of which you are worthy. The amount of worship you deserve. I was reading about the 24 elders in verse 4 and wondering who exactly they were and how great they must have been to be one of the 24. Could I ever be that good? (Yes, my selfish, sinful, carnal heart had the audacity to ask that question.) Then I saw that these great beings were on their faces laying their crowns before you.

Father, I get caught up on questions about heaven like, “Will I know my wife?” “Will I know those I love?” “Will I get bored?” But then I read this and I realize that I simply have no frame of reference for what the other side of death will be. All I know is that I’m not worthy, and if I am with you past this life it is only because of your grace through Jesus. If, on a scale of 1-10, my worship of you is currently a 2 (that’s about how it’s feeling right now), help me to get to a 2.1 today. Honestly, I don’t know if I can ever really get beyond 3 in this life, but the scale of the worship you deserve is so large, there is a lot of room between 2 and 3. So help me to worship you better. And help me to simply turn loose of my ego and be a nobody trying to tell everybody all about somebody who saved my soul. (Shout out Casting Crowns).

I love you, Lord.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 20, 2024 in Revelation

 

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“Psalm 1” by Kim Hill

19 Nov

“Psalm 1” by Kim Hill

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

In his law he meditates, day and night
He will be like a tree planted by water
He will yield his fruit in its season, his leaves won’t die
In whatever he does, he will prosper

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

For the lost, they are like chaff that the wind drives away
They are not safe at any time their life could perish

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

The Lord holds the plans, and the paths of all who follow him
The righteous will stand secure and last forever

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

Dear God, this is the second Kim Hill song I’ve thought of over the last couple of days, and there probably aren’t many people who remember her music enough to think of two songs by her in the span of three days. I guess I have a unique knowledge of 90s Christian music.

In this case, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway was Psalm 1:1-2. I pulled up the whole psalm and then this song came to mind since it’s literally called “Psalm 1.” Here is the NLT version of Psalm 1:

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

4 But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
    Sinners will have no place among the godly.
6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
    but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

I was talking several days ago as I prepared for my friend’s funeral about psalms of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. I would put this psalm squarely in the realm of orientation. The world makes sense to the psalmist. Those who follow you are blessed. The wicked condemned. When I am disoriented, it seems like those who follow you are abandoned and the wicked thrive. And then when I am reoriented, I can see beyond the physical world and realize that you hold those who love you, whether we can see it or not.

As I look at the first stanza, the one line that hits me is that I will not “join in with mockers.” Oh, how that is so easy and tempting to do. I want to mock those who disagree with me. I want to roll my eyes at people I see as foolish. The frustrate me, and I want to join in with like-minded people and mock them. I want to scoff. I want to make the insecurities I have in my disagreements with them, and use scoffing and mocking to elevate myself over them. That’s my human, carnal solution to it. What should my solution be? I suppose I should be looking to you, examining my thoughts and my heart for and then laying them before you to see if they are your thoughts and your heart. Then, if there is disagreement between you and me, I need to repent. If there is agreement, I need to simply love those who disagree and perhaps develop enough relationship with them where I can speak into their lives.

Father, help me to live up to all of this. It is so much easier to say/type than it is to live. But I want to worship you. I want to represent you to the world. I want to love you well. You are my God, and I want the roots of my life to be deep into your presence. Help me to be that throughout this day.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 19, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Psalms

 

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Ecclesiastes 2

11 Oct

2 I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2 So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” 3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.

4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

12 So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?). 13 I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14 For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. 15 Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” 16 For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.

17 So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

18 I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. 19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! 20 So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.

21 Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. 22 So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? 23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.

24 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. 25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 2

Dear God, as I read this chapter this morning I thought of a friend of my dad’s. I might have his philosophy incorrect, so I don’t want to use his name. Or my dad might have misinterpreted his philosophy to me. Either way, when I read this this morning, I thought of my perception of his philosophy which is, “Make your money and accumulate your wealth in the first half of your life and then use the second half of your life doing something or multiple things that are significant for God.” He even wrote a best selling book that showed people how to use the second half of their lives effectively. I think it was mainly designed for men and women who already found themselves in a midlife crisis, and it wasn’t written for the 20-year-old who was setting out on their career.

My dad and I were talking about this book recently, and he recounted this philosophy to me again. I told him that I disagreed with it. And now, reading this passage in Ecclesiastes, I kind of know why. Even this search for significance in the second half of life is chasing the wind. It is grasping for the things Solomon is grasping for in this passage. The money and wealth sought in the first half of life are just replaced with significance and joy.

There are two great commands Jesus gave us: love you and love others. Then he gave us this amazing sermon in Matthew 5-7 that basically outlines the standard we should strive for as we live out our salvation. Part of that living out of our salvation is to reframe my life. My life is not about my significance! The sooner I come to peace with that and accept it, ironically, the happier I will be.

My wife and I were talking yesterday about how, other than the constant sorrow that is in our lives through broken relationships, we are in a very good place. We have no complaints. Basically, life is good right now. Even as she was saying the words, I wanted to look over my shoulder for another shoe that could drop. Maybe one of us will have a health issue. Maybe I’ll have an unforeseen problem at work. We could have a health issue with another family member. Really, the possibilities are endless. And I don’t want those things. I like it easy. But I hope that should calamity or headwinds come, I won’t complain to you.

Father, I’ve been disappointed with you before. But you used that disappointment to teach me these lessons. And I know I still have more to learn, and sometimes the only way I can learn them is through struggling. So I am absolutely not inviting those struggles, but I pray that when you have something for me to learn, you will give me a teachable heart that will take the lesson and worship you for the rest of my days.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 11, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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