Today's Reading:O.T. - Ecclesiastes 3-4
N.T. - 1 Corinthians 2
Focus Verses: Eccles. 3:10-14
10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
Insight:
All of us experience the ebb and flow of life, the constant turning of the seasons. Our own time and experience seem small and insignificant when we think of the countless people who have preceded us, and imagine the ongoing succession of generations yet to come. It's with good reason that we feel like little specks on the giant timetable of human history.
Deep inside we have a sense of the infinite and eternal, but the vastness of the human experience on planet earth is simply too much for us to fathom. And then there are even bigger questions like, "Where did it all come from?" and "Why is it all here?" and "Where will it all end?"
It doesn't take long to get to the boundaries of our reason and knowledge. These mysteries point us to God or lead us to despair. Only God knows and sees beyond our limitations. Only what God does endures forever. And only God can give us the gift of good and satisfying lives.
Response and Action:
While I enjoy learning and the joy of discovery, I will be realistic about the limitations of what I can and cannot know. I will be realistic about things beyond the scope of human reason and verification, and let this realization point me to my need for faith in God. I will look to Christ Jesus and the written words of Scripture to guide me in my quest for God.
O God, you are before all things and you are beyond all things. Your truth and your wisdom are too wonderful for me to understand. You boggle my mind! I cannot even fully comprehend myself; how can I even begin to know you? Thank you for reaching down to me, for showing yourself to me through Jesus, and for inviting me to live in relationship with you as your child. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Proverbs: 2:6
"For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."
Resources:
Embracing the Mysterious God
by James Emery White
