Mar 26, 2017 | Rev. Anton Heuss
Facing Life's Vanities
Would you say it is better to attend a funeral than a celebrate a birthday? Most of us would say no. But Ecclesiastes says that, while it is less pleasant, it is more profitable for us. It is often at funerals that we consider what we’re living for and thus begin to live wisely. It also opens us to consider God’s work: why the world is the way it is and what hope God provides us in Christ.
Series Information
ANYTHING BUT TRITE:
AN HONEST QUEST FOR MEANING IN LIFE
Can faith survive honesty? Ecclesiastes was written before Christ, but even after Christ, we who know Him still wrestle with the way the world is. God is sovereign, but life is hard. All creation is subjected to futility: it groans and we groan too (Romans 8:20-22). Things just don't turn out the way they should. For all our sophistication, we still often feel like a child, lost in the fog, searching for meaning. The writer of Ecclesiastes cried out for something new. In the fullness of time, God answered his call and sent Christ. Christ broke the power of reigning sin, and because of His work, soon it will be death that's dying. Christ is the wisdom God gives us that enables us to eat, drink, and enjoy our work until the dawn rises, for we know the dawn will rise. Can faith survive honesty? Yes, because of Christ. We can acknowledge the pain and futility of life in a fallen world. We can also acknowledge hope.