About Ecclesiastes

I didn't pursue Christ-centered relationships in high school. The word "pursue" to explain my former situation makes me feel a little weird, but I think the word is adequate; I did not desire to have God in the center of my life. I'm a little confused over the balance of Christians trying to love Christ more and actually loving him more. Anyway, the point I want to get at is that my relationships have been superficial for the greater part of my life. I should probably explain my terms here. At this point, I'd say the superficial relationships in which I engaged were superficial simply because they led to no end besides the pleasure of company. I had one friend Michael who was very openly Christian. He appeared, to me, to have a sincere desire to love Christ and follow His lead. I didn't talk to Michael much about his faith or my faith. A day came when I was pretty stressed about a particular situation and Michael caught wind of my situation. He came up to me at lunch that day and told me he went through a tough time once and his youth pastor suggested he read Ecclesiastes. Michael made the same suggestion to me. I was a little shocked to hear advice from one of my peers suggesting I turn to God during my times of trouble. I had endured many eye-rolling sessions of listening to my mother's suggestions of prayer and reading the Bible when I'd gone through "difficult" times, but this boy my own age saying the same thing? I was not opposed to God. I acted like I sincerely loved Him and lived for Him, but my heart was not all there. I would pray whenever I felt it was necessary and I'd read my Bible whenever I felt guilty about not doing it. So really, I was genuinely touched that Michael had made such a suggestion. After school I pulled out my Bible and flipped the pages to Ecclesiastes, which I'd never actually read before. It kicks off with these word of encouragement: "The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: 'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.'" Perhaps my reaction at this point should have been, "Umm, what? How is this encouraging at all?" But quite to the contrary, I felt a sudden calm and increased desire to continue absorbing the words of Solomon. And continue I did. I read about Solomon's impassioned search for truth and purpose and happiness in life. He attained riches and wisdom through years and years of toil. He wanted it all and he got it all. Basically, he strove for the exact idealistic lifestyle our world is reaching for today. When he found himself unfulfilled and unhappy, he concluded that all of it was completely worthless in the end, making points such as: "I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun." (2:18-19) So basically what I get out of reading Ecclesiastes is that life is a vicious cycle of pointlessness... unless you are not living for yourself. Solomon made it pretty clear that we are here to fulfill God's purpose and not our own. I recommend you read Ecclesiastes to see this for yourself. God changed me with this book. I was raised under the preaching of my father, but my stubborn head would not let me find pleasure toiling in this sin-infested world until God used Solomon's words to finally convince me of the Truth. I am not here for me. I am not here for this world. I am here for God and God alone. How strange to apply such an idea, though. It's been a pretty big mystery to me, but God is good at directing me even when I have no idea what's going on. I worked at Ligonier Camp and Conference Center this past summer, feeling led there by what I believe to have been a providential pull. I loved telling 13-year-old girls the story of Solomon in Ecclesiastes. I told them about life and purpose. I got to talk to them about Jesus. I got to sit down with one girl and tell her the gospel message. I got to tell her the good news. God blessed me so much this past summer, and I lived every moment in awe of his work. So life is hard. It'd be really easy for me to get emo about it and cry myself to sleep at night, but I know there is a hope and a joy to be found in living. God has graciously granted me a salvation that I will never lose. I don't deserve it, but I have it. What better incentive should I have to live for God?