The Meaning of It All

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

“1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

Without God’s presence, all of life would seem meaningless and tiresome, as it did to the writer of Ecclesiastes, who cried out that all of life was in vain. Without God's presence and sovereignty, everything in life would be without eternal value or significance.  

God gives us eternal values that enable us to transcend the material life into the spiritual, to see value in the ordinary, to see God in other creatures, to see God’s creative hand in nature.

And in each season, there is God…

giving life meaning

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Material Things

Ecclesiastes 2: 4-8

“4 I made great works; I built houses and planted vineyards for myself; 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house; I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I got singers, both men and women, and delights of the flesh, and many concubines…

11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after the wind and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Twenty-five years ago, my father died.  I was with him the last two weeks of his life.  During that time, the meaning of this passage was never more clear to me.

At the end of our lives our bank accounts, our houses, our cars, our properties will have no meaning.  The material world’s grip on us will be loosened.   

The spiritual, eternal things will be the things that matter most to us, such as love; the love of God, the love of Christ, the love for our family and friends.

The writer of Ecclesiastes warns us that the true meaning of life cannot be found in  a life obsessed with chasing things that rust, decay and fade away.  

Happiness found in material things is temporary at best.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;” (Matthew 6:19) 

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Hope in This Life

Ecclesiastes 1: 14-15

“14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and chasing after the wind.  15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.”

Things in this world often seem beyond our control, or out of control.  There are many crooked roads that will never be straight, and many people who will always be hungry and in need of shelter.

Christ came to us to make the crooked paths straight; to restore us; to redeem us; to transform us into a people of love, mercy and compassion for one another.  

Christ came not only to give us the hope of eternal salvation, but to give us hope in this life; the hope of a better life, a higher life; a life where people live in peace and unity and reach out to those in need, and those who are lacking.

“for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’”(Matthew 25:35-36)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

A New Day with Christ

Ecclesiastes 1:2-9

“2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south, and goes around to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow. 8 All things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.”

Sometimes life seems as if it repeats itself; that we are caught on some sort of giant , never ending merry-go-round.  We get up in the morning.  We eat breakfast.  We go to work. We eat lunch.  We leave work.  We go home.  We eat dinner.  We watch TV.  We go to bed.  And we get up the next day and do it all over again.

The difference for Christians is that we do all these things with Christ and the Holy Spirit of God.  We get up with Christ.  We eat with Christ.  We work with Christ.  We travel each day with Christ.  The sun rises and sets each day with Christ.

And for everyone who is in Christ, the Holy Spirit is creating in us a new creation.

No day is the same with Christ.

Each day is a new day in the love of Christ.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Light of Christ

Proverbs 29: 13

“The poor and the oppressor have this in common: the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.”

In the Old Testament, the light is God’s grace, mercy, goodness, the knowledge of God, and revelation.  In the New Testament, God’s light is Christ.  

Christ came into the world to live among us, to show us God’s mercy, goodness, and grace in the flesh, and to teach us how to live.

The light of Christ is given to everyone.  We can choose to live in the light, or continue to live in darkness.  

Those who choose the light will know God.  Those who choose darkness will know only darkness, though the light has been given to them.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Live in Fellowship

Proverbs 27:17

“Iron sharpens iron and one person sharpens the wits of another.”

The image of iron sharpening iron is the image of two tools sharpening one another, causing each to become better and more effective.  It would be impossible for one tool to become sharper without the other. Left alone, both tools would become dull and useless.

As Christians, we are called to live in community; in fellowship with one another.   John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, saw the value of this and further divided his congregations into small groups that met during the week so that the concept of “iron sharpening iron” could continue even after Sunday worship.

We are called to be in fellowship with one another so that we may grow in our faith and our relationship with God may deepen.

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”(1 Thess. 5:11)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Desire to Know God

Proverbs 25: 2

“It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings to search things out.”

The wisdom of God is available to all who seek it out, but it is not an easy search.  

In this effort, we have access to God’s holy word in the Bible.  The Holy Spirit is available to us, giving us insight, leading us, guiding us.  The knowledge of those who have been before us is available to us, also.  

But, first and most importantly, we have to have the desire to know God, to hunger for God’s truth and  be willing to do the work to discover it.

“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things." (Psalm 107:9)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)