Sunday January 23, 2011

Advice for Young & Old

Ecclesiastes 11:7-10

  ⁷ Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

 ⁸ When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life.  But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.  ⁹ Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.  ¹⁰So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy.  But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.

The book of Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon.  A man, during his time was probably was one of the most powerful and riches men in the world.  He was able to experience life for all of the earthly pleasures one's heart might desire to seek for happiness and meaning.  Solomon, for most his life sought the things of this world and searched for the missing things that would finally give him that inner peace we all seek.  This book within the Bible could be used to give seminars to the political, the rich & CEO's all around the world, on how & what is really important.  If we could teach and spread the good news to these men and women of authority, great reach and  influence, I believe we would see a shift like never before.

At first glance Solomon seems like a man so ungrateful and almost depressed.  I'm not sure of the number of times he uses the word "meaningless", but it's a bunch.  It can be hard to read, if you don't read the book to the end.  He tells us to live life, experience the wonders of the world, he tells us to rejoice in the splendor of each day and gives us such profound wisdom throughout the whole book.      Then always seem to end it by telling us it's all meaningless.  I remember the first time reading Ecclesiastes and saying to myself so which one is it: Am I suppose to experience life or shouldn't I, because really it's all just meaningless?  

But with age comes wisdom.  And I finally read the the last two verses:

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

¹³ That’s the whole story.  Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.  ¹⁴ God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

What Solomon finally realized is that it is good to live life to it's fullest but the most important and meaningful thing one should seek,  is to have a personal relationship with God.  An intimate and daily relationship; he had what I call a light bulb moment.  I believe that if we desire that relationship with our Lord and play by his rules, the life that we seek becomes like a sweet light that you just can't get enough of.  Just remember this: It's our personal relationship with our Lord & Savior that makes everything run, look and feel better.

I want to thank all of you for your support and for starting your day with "God's Cup of Coffee".

Godspeed,

James Boening