Everything God Does Lasts Forever

Happy Tuesday, creative worshipers!
I like June.  I just do. 
For many reasons.
It's marked by colors, warm winds, bird symphonies, and a whole lot more.  It's a hopeful month.  It's a happy month.  It's a time of the year that I wish could stay around forever.  Literally, forever.
I enjoy when thunderstorms make their entrance. 
I love when my annuals bloom.

I love the happy laughter that comes from kids who have made it through the winter's anticipation of Spring!
I love open windows full of fresh air.
I love the puffiness of the clouds in a sky that closely resembles a painting.

I love early sunrises and late sunsets.

I really do - I wish this month could last forever.

Stamps used: Time Well Spent, 

All of Me Alpha, Chunky Alpha, 

Messy Stamped Alpha, 

Consider the Wildflowers.

But, obviously that's not reality.

I get to watch warm and forgiving winds give way to Summer heat that burns my freshly cut grass.  I get to see full blossoms cower at July's roar.  By August, it's difficult to know whether or not that gorgeous fuscia once existed!  Dear, sweet, Rosalias, you may fade in a couple of weeks, but I will always await your timely return. 
The Bible speaks the concept of coming and going.  It lends a persuasion to the finite-ness of our fallen world, here; right here in Ecclesiastes.    Now, please don't be depressed; my goal today is to purposely draw out the underlying grace of God in this book.  Because even though it seems like a difficult piece of antique literature, ALL of God's Word is His inspiration to us.  ALL means ALL.  Ecclesiastes is written in its own unique fashion, yet remains worthy of note, and full of purpose. I'm still studying to figure this stuff out!

As we peek into this "weird" and seemingly misplaced piece of Scripture called "Ecclesiastes," one thing we pull away is a "teacher's" lessons on life, particularly relating to time and death.  Boy, sounds like a valuable class!  "Come hear lectures about the speed at which time passes, and the length of your life which is like a breath."  Hmmm...where do I sign up?

There's more.  He describes life as a striving - a grasping for something unattainable like smoke or wind.  You cannot hold it.  You have no control over it.  It looks solid in nature, but when you reach to take it in your hands, you come up short. 
This is Ecclesiastes in a nutshell.
There's more. 
The Bible is divided into sections.  Ecclesiastes is a part of the "wisdom" section.  With the scholarly help of theologians before us and even of our time, understanding of this book's puzzling content is available.  I got my help from the website, bibleproject.com.  Now I can better see how Ecclesiastes fits into the divine narrative of the whole Bible!  God is giving us as clear view as possible into the mind of man and what we are made for; how we live in this world as workers with greater purpose and an eternal perspective.
What a good God! 
The following passage of Scripture aids in helping us to see why this book is not just about the mortality of man, and the finality of our endeavors.  It's about God.  It's about God as the central entity and focus of who we are.  It's about His being the reason for life, the reason to work, the reason to enjoy life, the reason to enjoy work, the reason for joy, the reason for hope.  The list goes on. 

"I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. " (Eccles. 3:14 ESV)


Life, indeed, is a complex summation of situations and responses.  To make matters more complex, we have motives and intent.  We think about and emote throughout it all.  As Ecclesiastes educates us on the futility of our work, or the vanity of our constructions, it also brings about the overall and overarching point of life: God.  God is the point of life. 
The reason why we become disappointed, the teacher says, is based on our living life apart from the will of God.

The very reason we become seriously vexed by dashed expectations, according to our professor, is based on our striving to make more of ourselves, and less about our Creator. 
Our friend, the "teacher," is making us aware of the infinitely more worthy and glorious Being, and His being the focus of our endeavors in life. 
Life IS a vapor.  It is a timed sprint.  It's a fast and furious couch-to-5k, for all you running junkies out there.  From dust we were born and to dust we'll go.  We don't know what time frame we're given to walk the Earth.  The Bible even tells us to learn how to "number our days" (Psalm 90).  But the questions is not if we will die.  The question is not even when will we die. 
The sweet grace of this Scripture above gives the answer to life's ultimate question: why am I here?
Why are on Earth are we here on Earth?
What are we supposed to be doing?
What is this life all about?

God.
It's God. 
Because what God does is perfect (Psalm 18:30).
Because what God does is abundantly good (Psalm 31:19).
Because what God does is higher (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Because what God does lasts forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

Our lives, according to God, are valuable and useful.  We are made to work.  We are made to worship.  And we're made to do both at the same time.  Life, though a vapor, is not wasted we are focused on the central Character of Scripture; it's enriched.

Much love,
Deeds
IG: mercies_journaled
aff. link: www.sweetnsassystamps.com/?aff=7