Ecclesiastes 12

Ecclesiastes 12: 1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”

This chapter has two distinct sections, but being the last chapter in the book I am not going to change my practice – one chapter at a time. In this first part, which runs through verse 8, the message is simple: don’t wait another day. Yes, ideally begin at your youth – lay a strong foundation and this will serve you well in times of trouble.

6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. 7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

It is never too late to repent…until it is too late. As long as one has breath, Jesus is standing at the door, knocking. The issue is this – none of us know when that last breath will be taken; tomorrow may never come.

Another blessing of starting young: there are more days to devote to Christ. However, failure to start young should not be a cause for weeping. For me? I started with a foundation, I walked away from it, and I thank God He preserved me to where I am today. Still, a very rough, unfinished, product, still disappointed in my progress, but for the first time in my life having an understanding of assurance.

8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “All is vanity.”

Yes. All the rest of it was, and is, vanity. Futile. But, more than that, harmful.

Part two. We have heard it all from the Preacher:

9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth.

We know this is so from Solomon. His words were wise enough to be kept for us by God in Scripture, even though he did not live fully in accord with this wisdom. We see his reflection of his life in this book, Ecclesiastes.

Further, he warns: do not spend too much time in studying and exploring:

12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.

Searching everywhere for truth, exploring all of the world’s philosophies…for many, this can lead to a crisis of meaning due to the confusion it brings. When I have come across such people, who have lost faith because of their search for “truth,” and due to this have no foundation, I make a couple of recommendations. Neither of these point to Scripture, because one who tells you that Scripture holds no answers will not listen when you say Scripture holds all the answers.

First, go read “The Abolition of Man,” by CS Lewis. A key thought in this book:

“You cannot go on ‘seeing through’ things for ever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to ‘see through’ first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To ‘see through’ all things is the same as not to see.”

At some point, one needs a foundation – the thing you stop seeing through. Without a foundation, one is lost – one finds a life with no meaning. I have found this book to offer the antidote for this meaning crisis, and have written so here in the second of two “books” at the tab.

That’s the first recommendation – read Lewis’s short book. Now, if they come back from this searching for more – for the next step, I then send them to “Mere Christianity,” also by Lewis. He begins, not with Christianity (because one who has deconstructed from this or never had it will not want to start there), but with logic and natural law. He builds on this to demonstrate why Christianity is the only foundation that will satisfy this longing for meaning. And, as you likely know, I reviewed this book in detail recently at this blog – the links to my posts can be found here.

Conclusion

But there is something else I wish to address with the Preacher’s comments of avoiding too much time to study and books: this a warning for Christians, and to explain myself, I require the Preacher to set the stage with his closing to this entire book:

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.

At some point, study and doctrine and disputes and disagreements and my church is the one true church has to come to an end. Fear God and keep His commandments:

Matthew 22: 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Yes, what we believe is important, else we worship a false God. As I have noted many times, I will take the Nicene Creed as sufficient – with or without the filioque.

14 For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

After this, do. Love is an action word, not a feeling word. Love God, love your neighbor. How are you (how am I) demonstrating this such that others see your example, while at the same time keeping your left hand from knowing what your right hand is doing?

Love with humility. The treasures for this are laid up in heaven, and God will judge these treasures as “well done, my good and faithful servant.”