It took the wisest man ever to walk on earth years to find true wisdom.
You may remember that God offered to give King Solomon anything he wanted to ask for. Solomon chose wisdom. God made him the wisest of all mankind. Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes to summarize his pursuit of the meaning of life. He begins saying:
Ecclesiastes 1:2
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
It dawned on me as I read Ecclesiastes that by a simple change in wording, the book would have a totally different meaning. You will notice that in the entire book, except at the very end, Solomon used the word “I”. His writing was about him trying to do for himself what only God could do him. He was on a mission to find the meaning of life and what will produce joy and fulfillment. He went on his adventure of trying everything one could imagine for he had no financial, physical, educational or political constraints. He emerged himself in reading, studying, drinking, music, lust, toys, projects, power, hard work, possessions, relationships, politics, gathering, etc. Look closely and you will see it was always I tried, I did, I am, I purchased, I achievement, I, I, I.
As you read the book, you get a bit disheartened yourself, for truth be told he busted your bubble. For you too were hoping and rooting for one of his efforts to hit the jackpot and be the answer to your quest. You began to ask yourself, ‘Why bother with life itself for it is as Solomon puts it, meaningless?’ Thanks to Solomon’s journal of his quest, we do know how the book ends.
Ecclesiastes 12:13
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
Yes, Solomon realizes that our whole life is meaningless without God. But this is like a cliff hanger in a movie. Okay, I get it. Fear God follow His ways. But then what happens? The movie ends, and we go ‘UGH!’
I think Solomon should have written a sequel to his book. Ecclesiastes revisited. It would have started out the same but had a different tempo to it.
“I, Solomon, the wisest man on earth wanted to find the meaning of life. I found that life only will be fulfilled by knowing God.” Here comes the fun part. Wait for it.
By knowing God, I found that HE will….
Give me joy
Provide for me
Protect me
Bring me laughter
Take me on wild adventures
Bring me to mountain tops
Allow me to experience peace beyond my understanding
Teach me to dance
Teach me to write
Teach me to create
Teach me to build
Teach me to sing
Teach me to serve
Teach me to help
Teach me to play
Teach me to be still
Fill my heart until it overflows with joy
Remove any anxiety
Provide unlimited patience
Reveal colors in their brilliance
Show me ways
Rise me up above my enemies
Then Solomon would end. “I have surveyed life with God at the center and found it too meaningful!”
Just a Thought…
