Everything is meaningless

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

I have always been a person who loves to read a, “good book.” When it comes to reading there is a personal truth I have found which is, that books are season specific for me. What I mean is that I have noticed that I can start reading a book that may in fact be inspirational, encouraging, challenging or honestly one that will later land on my “top 10 list” but if I am not in a place in my life where I can relate then my interest fades away. Well, months ago I bought a book entitled, “Crazy Love” written by Francis Chan. Initially I had a great interest in this book because I had already devoured “The Forgotten God” also by author Francis Chan (Which by the way is on my top 10), but I didn’t get maybe two chapters in before I laid it down only to pick up something else. This is by no way saying the first chapters of the book are bad or uninteresting, but I know me and if I am not hooked early on I might as well not continue because I know from experience the Lord will lead me back to it when it’s the right season. Needless to say, two days ago was that day.

Well, today I am in chapter two and the question has been, “What matters in life?” It wasn’t long into the reading that Chan brought in a familiar passage from James:

4:13-14 “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

This chapter really hit a nerve; it talked about how we get so weighed down with things that don’t matter (the things that hold no eternal significance). While we are wrapped up in focusing on the things of tomorrow we don’t even think that there isn’t a guarantee for tomorrow. Like James said, life is like a vapor, here only briefly and then it vanishes.

After reading this chapter I went on to read through the book of Ecclesiastes and honestly I have never saw it the way I did this morning. The words of King Solomon are still ringing in my head, “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” How true! Everything outside of knowing and showing Christ is meaningless. Solomon who had everything mind you, looked at it all and said, “You know none of this matters. None of this has any eternal significance because when I’m dead what I have done with my life will be tried by fire.”

Maybe it’s just me but I find it so easy to get wrapped up in things that do not matter. When I realize that my focus is on stuff that doesn’t matter, God then helps me to become more sensitive to Him. So, today I will live with the attitude that this truly could be my last and if I have a tomorrow I will do the same. It’s not being morbid but rather being aware. The purpose of my life is not about me, but it is about Jesus. Today is not about me, but about it is about Jesus.