Life “under the sun” is depressing (Ecclesiastes 1:3,9,14). When life
is seen in an earthbound way, with nothing above and beyond it, there is
no hope, no glimmer of light. The preacher is not saying that this is
the only way we can look at life. He is saying that this way of thinking
about life is a dead-end street. He is inviting us to see the
meaninglessness of a life that is no more than life “under the sun.” He
shows us the hopelessness of life “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes
2:17,20,22). We can never be satisfied by life “under the sun.” There is
always a sense of something more. This dissatisfaction, this longing
for something more, comes from God: “He has put a sense of eternity in
people’s minds” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Life “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes
4:1,3) offers nothing to those who are searching for a real sense of
meaning, purpose and direction.There is an emptiness at the heart of
life “under the sun.” Attempting to find something more, through our own
efforts, is a never-ending task, a fruitless exercise - “trying to
catch the wind” (Ecclesiastes 4:6,8). We need more than life “under the
sun.”. We need life in the Son. We need the One who came from above -
Jesus Christ, our Saviour. He alone can bring something different into
our life. He brings something lasting - eternal life (1 John 5:11-12).
As we read Ecclesiastes in the context of the whole of Scripture, our
thoughts turn towards another life, a better life - life in the Son.
This is a life that is filled with glorious, heavenly, eternal hope.
Without God, life is hopeless.With Him, life becomes hopeful. By placing
before us these two very different ways of life - life without God and
life with God, Ecclesiastes invites us to choose. We are to choose life -
the life that comes from above, the abundant life, which is the gift of
God’s grace to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ (John 10:10).
When we receive life in the Son, our life is transformed. It is
transformed by the life of Christ - new life, eternal life.
We read about Elijah in his high-points of strength - the triumph over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-39) - and his low-points of weakness - he is ready to give up: “I’ve had enough now, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). How did Elijah get into such a mess? He forgot this: “The Lord’s power was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). In all life’s ups and downs, we must hold on to this: The Lord has sent His Spirit of power to live in us (2 Timothy 1:7). How are we to live in the power of the Spirit? We need to feed on the Word of God and drink in the Word of God (1 Kings 17:4). We need to pray that the Lord will send His showers of blessing (1 Kings 17:14). We are to live our life “according to the Word of the Lord” (1 Kings 17:16). For our life of faith to be strong in the Lord, we need to listen attentively to the preaching of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:24).
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