Life is Meaningless...Without God

Carlos and I began studying Ecclesiastes today, and the first section of the first chapter has the title Everything Is Meaningless, which definitely caught our attention. Ecclesiastes is written from the perspective of someone, most likely King Solomon, near the end of his life, and is a reflection upon that life. The author speaks of the meaningless of worldly endeavors and of how there is no true value to anything we toil at under the sun because it will all pass away when we die. At least, this is the case without God. The chapter begins with the phrase "Meaningless, meaningless, utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless!" which would seem like quite a hopeless story, but it does not end there. The King James version says something like "Vanity of Vanities" instead of meaningless, so I decided to look a bit more into that. Vanity can mean something like empty, valueless, or worthless, and it can also mean taking excessive pride in one's self or accomplishments, and so putting these two definitions together, you get something like the worthlessness of pursuing a self-centered existence--the vanity of vanities. And we see this theme emphasized throughout the rest of this chapter and chapter 2. It also emphasizes how there is nothing new under the sun--that the same sins have existed for all of creation--there are just new ways of disguising or rationalising them. We see the classic example of someone hoarding wealth and treasures in this world, but never finding satisfaction in any of it, and seeking to gain worldly wisdom, but realising in the end that it is all of no importance--it is just a "chasing after the wind." He goes on to speak of how though wisdom is better than folly, the wise and foolish man still share the same fate, so everything a wise man does in his lifetime is just as meaningless as the foolish man because after he dies, it is done--it will be passed on to someone else to do with as they please. God, however, does not die away, and his plans are everlasting, and by allowing Him to work in our lives, it is no longer just a "chasing after the wind." We have a purpose in Christ. He also speaks of being content with what God gives us and not lusting after what others have or what the world thinks we should have. Reading and discussing all of this reminded me of something I read in Experiencing God about learning to distinguish between what is temporary and what is eternal. Everything in our lives is temporary except for what we allow God to work through us--and this is reaching other people--loving our neighbors as ourselves--the greatest commandment--sharing Christ with the world. Anyways, that is what I felt God speaking to me when reading through those first two chapters. Just realising how futile of an existance we have if we are not serving God, and being content with what God gives us and in His timing. That last part, about being content with God doing things in His timing is probably the toughest part, at least for me, but God uses patience to build character and prepare us for what He has coming, and we must persevere on towards that goal. Anyways, sorry that this was a bit rambly. Have a most excellent day!