Overview of: EcclesiastesToday's Reading:
Ecc. 1:12-18; 3:1-17; 12:9-14
"Meaning & Mystery"
Focus Verses: Ecc. 3:10-11
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.
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.
New Testament for Today: Matthew 11:27-30
27 "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
In Context: Matthew 11
Proverb for Today: Prov. 9:10-11
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life."
Recommended Reading:
Embracing the Mysterious God
by James Emery White
