"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose is that people should fear him. What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again."
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
I'll be honest with you.... Ecclesiastes has never been one of my favorite books of the Bible. In fact, I really never much cared for it. Psalms and Proverbs, yes, definitely. New Testament, for sure. Even the Old Testament historical events, super interesting. But Ecclesiastes? It just always seemed so depressing. Everything in life is meaningless, without a point. Nothing is new under the sun. It just makes life seem so, well... futile.
Then I was chatting with one of my Bible study friends and she told me that Ecclesiastes was her favorite book. You can imagine my reaction. ("It's your favorite book?! What?? Why???" 🤯) She then proceeded to share with me all the reasons why she loved the book, and that one conversation changed my view completely. This time, I had a totally different mindset as I went into studying Ecclesiastes.
"Solomon set out to look for answers in wisdom - by which he meant human wisdom that excluded answers in light of eternity. This is the wisdom of those who guide us to a better life in the here and now; how to live a healthier, happier, ore prosperous life. This wisdom has value and many lives would be better for following it, yet it excludes a true appreciation for eternity. This wisdom has no true answer for the meaninglessness of life. It only shows us how to live our meaningless lives better." (David Guzik)
In all the times I read Ecclesiastes, I focused on the meaninglessness of it all. If you're poor, life is meaningless (and really hard). If you're rich, life is meaningless. If you're foolish, life is meaningless (and really, really hard). If you're wise, life is meaningless. It all seemed so meaningless to me. What really is the purpose of life?? But what I failed to take into account was that this was Solomon's under the sun viewpoint. He was looking for the meaning and purpose of life on earth. As a child of God, I have a decidedly different view than the under the sun view. Everything in life, from the most mundane of daily tasks, to the biggest, most publicized stage has meaning if done with eternity in view (1 Corinthians 3, 23-33; Colossians 3:17).
Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 tells us that life continually repeats itself. Everything that has been done before will be done again. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Life seems to be monotonously the same, century after century, generation after generation. Fun, right? However, followers of Jesus have a life filled with new things: new life, new creation, new community, new help, new covenant, and a new hope. Hope that if things have been done before and people made it through, so can we. We are not alone in the struggle of life. There is nothing that I have gone through or am going through that others have not gone through. There is a certain level of comfort in that fact.
Ecclesiastes 6:18-20 tells us that we should be satisfied with the goodness of life. Wealth and the capacity to enjoy it is a gift from God. Solomon says that it is "good and fitting for one to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life." I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I take life too seriously - I work too hard, I worry to much, I stress about the smallest things. If that is you too, stop it! Sure, parts of life can be extremely difficult, but it is God's gift to enjoy the good in life. Our lot in life may be different, but we all have something good worth enjoying. Don't be so busy toiling under the sun that you don't enjoy the gift God has given you - life.
"I have seen the God-give task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. he has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." - Ecclesiastes 3:10-11
We all struggle with the purpose and meaning of life and want to feel like what we do matters. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that God has put eternity in our hearts. He has made us with the desire to find meaning and purpose in life. Life only becomes meaningless when we seek wisdom, pleasure, and satisfaction under the sun only. It's when we fix our eyes on eternity that our purpose and meaning become clear.
Viewpoint matters. Reading and studying Ecclesiastes with a different view enabled me to enjoy the book, and honestly filled me with hope and joy. I can do life. I can do life well. I can have balance. I can have fulfillment. I can enjoy the life God has given me.
**I have a ton more notes on Ecclesiastes that I would love to share with you, but I couldn't fit them all here! I will do a flip through of my study of Ecclesiastes in my Instagram stories, and will save them as a highlight under Bible Study. If you have time, hop on over to my IG to check it out. 😉
(A huge thank you to my friend, Alyssa, for helping me gain new perspective on this important book 🧡)
Page Details
I had so much fun creating this page with Distress Inks and stamps, and I just love how it came together 🦋 First, I stamped the butterflies and flowers on vellum and colored with colored pencils. Then, I punched out a 2" circle on regular printer paper and lightly stuck it to the page to mask off the circle background, which fit my butterfly phrase just perfectly. I then blended the background, blended the Leaf Branch stencil, and used the Script background before removing the 2" circle. I then finished my title stamping and used double sided tape to adhere the vellum butterflies and flowers. Voila!
If you're like me and have found Ecclesiastes to be one of your least favorite books of the Bible, I encourage you to go back to it with a different point of view. You may find it to be more hopeful and meaningful than you originally thought. 😉
Much love in Christ,
Janelle
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