There is a longing in each of us to live a meaningful life. In his search for meaning, the Preacher had examined and experimented with life and came to this realisation in Eccl 2:10-11, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labour, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
Is life truly meaningless? It will be if our lives are disconnected from God and His purposes.
Paul tells us in Eph 1:4-10 that God is working out His eternal purpose for the universe. He has decreed that all things be eventually brought under the headship of His Son. This plan was fully revealed to us when Christ came, lived, died, and rose from the grave.
Psalm 2 further declared that God has put His Son in place as the King in Zion. He will give His Son the nations as an inheritance. Rev 5:9 explains that this will be fully accomplished through Christ’s blood which has ransomed a people for God from every tribe, tongue, and nation. As Rev 7:10 declares, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
The good news is we are a part of the plan. Paul says in Eph 2:10 that we are His masterpiece, created in Jesus Christ to do the good works that He has prepared in advance for us to do. What is this good work? 1 Pet 2:9 says that God has chosen us to be a royal priesthood and a treasured possession to declare His excellencies. This good work involves our proclamation of Christ.
The Preacher discovered all is futile because he had made his desires the centre of his universe and put himself on the throne when God had already installed His King. The question for us is therefore whether we are seeking first our kingdom or seeking first God’s kingdom.
Now that we know God’s ultimate purpose for our lives, will you align your life to His will by becoming His holy people, living such excellent lives that proclaim His saving grace? Will you come alongside the church to build a community that bears witness to the Lord? May God help us.