1.
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Heavenly
Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In the message from God’s Word today we’re going to look at the words of
King Solomon from Ecclesiastes 1:2 & 2:18-26. Do our lives have meaning and purpose to
them, especially with all of the tragedies and endless “rat race” that life
puts us through? Well, the answer my
friends is, “Yes.” King Solomon teaches that our life has
meaning because Jesus, in whom all of the promises of God are fulfilled, has
given that meaning to us through His death and resurrection. The message is entitled, “Does Life Have Meaning? Yes, in
Christ.” Dear brothers and sisters
in Christ.
2.
It was nearing 6 p.m. on Wednesday August 1st,
2007 when Kristin West walked out to
her car near Minneapolis, MN. She couldn't wait to get home. As she walked to
the car, she chatted on her cell phone with her son about dinner at McDonald's.
Minutes later, she turned northbound on Interstate 35W. Cars were backed up on the bridge over the
Mississippi River. Workers were repairing the bridge deck, and traffic was down
to four lanes. At the middle of the
bridge, cars began to move a little more easily. And then, over the blare of
her radio, Kristin heard a rumble. Her
SUV slammed from side to side, and suddenly she was floating. The bridge that
she'd crossed a thousand times was falling.
“I can't die today, she thought.” As she fell, the contents of her purse
spilled on the floor. She scrambled to find her cell phone. Visions of her
family flashed in her head. I'll never
see them again, she thought. I have to get the phone. She had to tell them one
last time she loved them. Her SUV
continued to drop. In the midst of all
the panic she finally found the phone. “Bridge collapsed!” she said. Her
husband heard the panic in her voice. “Get out of the car! “he said. “Get ready to swim if you have to.” She looked around and knew that she was
stranded. The span of bridge they were on was now a mangled mess of twisted
metal and broken concrete. A half-dozen cars were scattered about. And on all
sides, of the Mississippi River.
Kristin didn’t think that she would be able to get out of the car. But, suddenly, a woman in scrubs appeared outside
the passenger door. “I can't open my
door. Can you help?” Kristin asked.
And the woman opened the door.
3.
Wow! What a
story. Thanks be to God that Kristin
West and so many other people survived that bridge collapse in MN. I was in MN the week that this happened 9
years ago, being part of a wedding, and I actually saw the devastation of the
35W bridge. It was only about 2 blocks
away from where the wedding was held. It
looked a lot worse in person than what you see on TV. Thank God that all those children that were
on the school bus survived. Only about
65 people were injured and about 9 people were killed. That’s some amazing considering the fact that
the authorities have mapped about 88 vehicles at the scene of the
collapse.
4.
It’s tragedies like the 35W Bridge that remind us just
how precious life is. The life that God
our heavenly Father has given us. King
Solomon here in Ecclesiastes 1 & 2 says that our lives have meaning only
when God is first in our lives.
Otherwise, it can be easy for us to be like Kristin who thought she was going to die in the midst of the wreckage
of the 35W bridge and think that it would have been her last breath on
earth.
5.
So what does King Solomon teach us about life? Can our lives really have meaning on this
side of heaven? Let’s see what he has to
say. In Ecclesiastes 1:2 Solomon says, “"Meaningless! Meaningless or vanity of
vanities!" "Utterly meaningless! Everything is
meaningless." The first words
we hear from Solomon are anything but encouraging. Much like the words that
Kristin said to her husband after her car had collapsed into the Mississippi
River— “The Bridge has collapsed, I think
I’m going to die.” Solomon says, “Meaningless or vanity.” This word’s important because it occurs in
Ecclesiastes about 37 times. The
original idea behind this word vanity is breath. This idea makes a lot of sense, because on a
cold day when we see our breath it quickly vanishes, you can hear the sense of vanishing when you hear the word vanity. In the same way, life can be so unstable,
just like how our breath vanishes in cold weather. In a word meaningless or it’s no use.
6.
Solomon goes on to say in Ecclesiastes 2:18-22 “18 I hated all the things I had toiled for
under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 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.
This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome
labor under the sun. 21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill,
and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This
too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What does a man get for all the
toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?”
7.
Solomon’s words, “I
hated life” bring to mind Christ’s statement in John 12:25, “The man who loves his life will lose it,
while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Solomon describes himself as a weary
man. But, Jesus in John 12 speaks of the
man of faith who overcomes this dying, sinful world by clinging to what is
eternal. But, the two aren’t so far
apart as they may appear. The person
whose heart is filled with despair and hatred of his life is often ready for
the good news of Jesus and His victorious love in dying on the cross to save us
from our sins.
8.
9 Times in this short section, King Solomon uses the
terms “meaningless or vanity” and “under the sun.” He continues to emphasize that without God
all human effort is meaningless. King
Solomon knew this very well. Early in
his life we know that He’d devoted much of His time to God, to attaining godly
wisdom and building the Great Temple in Jerusalem. But now Solomon’s elderly and sees that his
many foreign wives, pleasures and luxuries in life have led him astray. Initially Solomon’s achievements brought him
some happiness, but as he gives them more thought, he becomes agitated and
depressed.
9.
To make matters worse, Solomon says that all of our
achievements, toil and work in this life often fall into the hands of a good
for nothing. Can you imagine that in
your own life? How unfair is that? Not only does a person struggle and sweat for
a lifetime, but he or she goes down to the grave without any guarantee that
what he leaves behind will be appreciated or used wisely. Solomon’s question, “What does a man get from the toil and anxious striving?” Fits right with these thoughts. So where does meaning in life come from? Let’s keep going.
10.
Ecclesiastes
2:23-26 says, "All his days his work
is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is
meaningless. A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find
satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without
him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives
wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of
gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.
This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Here Solomon realizes that after
examining all wisdom, foolishness, pleasure, achievements and everything else
under the sun has left him empty and lost.
But, he goes on to ask the question, “How then shall we live?” The
answer to this question fills the rest of his book here in Ecclesiastes. He begins his answer by pointing to God’s
control. In this way verses 24 to 26
provide part of the answer.
11.
In this life, Solomon says that the best a person can do
is eat, drink and find satisfaction in his work. But, how can one follow
this suggestion if labor is meaningless and a chasing after the wind. Solomon answers that satisfaction in this
life is from the hand of God. The same
hand of God that sent His Son Jesus Christ into this world that pierced through
this dark cloud of vanity, of meaninglessness.
The joy of knowing that through Jesus our labors in this life aren’t in
vain, but that through Christ’s labor on the cross we have the wonderful gift
of eternal life. Jesus who “pleased God” like no other gives meaning,
purpose and hope to all of us as His children.
This is the truth that King Solomon rested His life upon. Even though he’d lost God in the midst of the
treasures and cares of this life. God
found Him and reminded Him of the true meaning of life. That’s that in Jesus Christ are found all the
promises of God.
12.
Jesus is our greatest treasure that we have in this life.
May we continue as a Church here at Christ & Calvary Lutheran to hold Him
as our source of meaning in this life in dying on the cross to save us from our
sins. May our Lord Jesus give us hope,
help and faith to continue in this life we lead so that one day we may enjoy
eternal life with Him in heaven.
Amen.
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