Neville Turley

He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  Ecclesiastes 3: 11 (NIV)

One whole book of the Bible is dedicated to exploring the meaning of life.  It is the book of Ecclesiastes and it does so by using reverse psychology. 

The author is looking back on his life and states that everything is meaningless and an utter waste of time.  Many believe King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was either the author or that the book of Ecclesiastes is about him. 

Be that as it may, whoever the author was, he was a person of great wealth.  In his pursuit to find a meaning to life he went on wine drinking orgies until he realised this was not the answer. He undertook great building projects, built houses, developed vineyards, gardens and orchards.  He bought slaves, owned more livestock than anyone in Jerusalem and piled up silver and gold from the royal treasuries in the lands he ruled.

He had everything he wanted.  In all this his wisdom stayed with him for he realised that none of his achievements meant anything in the end.  It was like chasing the wind, of no use at all.  The meaning to life eluded him.

Finally he saw God’s plan for his life.  God set eternity in our hearts and that is what makes our life meaningful.

Our lives are not our own, they belong to God.  It is his eternal work that we are here to do, his plan and his timetable that we must follow.  We must fear him and keep his commandments.

God grant us the grace to do so.

Prayer: Almighty God may we be enabled by the Holy Spirit to lead meaningful lives to your glory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen