The Reader’s Digest, January 1957, quoted Allen Saunders:
“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.”
Sure enough, some of us may want to separate our life from our deeds, but that won’t work. Life is made up of every moment, every relationship and every deed, however distasteful that may be. It does not have to be a negative, but it will be if we don’t put – and keep – our “house in order.” When we fail to do so, then we end up with a life that is not what we really intended or wanted it to be.
When James asked the question, “What is your life…?” (James 4:14) he referred to the temporary and brief nature of man’s journey on this planet. But more could be considered under that title. It was Solomon who spoke of the “whole of man..” in Ecclesiastes 12:13. In so doing, Solomon emphasized that man’s life should be focused upon:
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
When a child is born into this world, he/she will develop by what he is taught and by what he sees in others around him. Their life, then, depends to a degree upon the actions and words of others. How this child grows and becomes a useful and honorable member of our society, then, will depend upon what we expose them to and what he/she eventually thinks and does.
One of man’s most puzzling questions addresses the essence of life. “Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here?” Man’s life consists of many facts and events. The sum of life’s “parts” includes our failures and flaws as well as our accomplishments. We may receive forgiveness for our sin, but sin often leaves deep scars. The relationships we form, the services we render to others, the obstacles we overcome, our successes, our failures – and the people with whom we associate, all are part of us, and what we are today often rests upon what we were yesterday.
Note that in Ecclesiastes Solomon looks back at his life and, recalling his mistakes, advises ancient and modern man how to make life worth living. Note one of the questions Solomon asks:
“For who knows what is good for man in life…?” Ecclesiastes 6:12.
As wise as Solomon had been at one time, he realized he had wasted and misused that wisdom. God gave him a second chance to use some of that wisdom when, at the end of that book of “..the preacher,” Solomon makes it clear that if one is to make a positive, long-lasting mark in life, good for himself and others, he/she must “Fear God, and keep His commandments.”
Why? Because only in that way can one have a life that is “whole,” that fulfills the capabilities of a man of God, a woman of God, a child of God.
Think carefully of this. Make a note of the great significance of these words. What is the “whole,” the “all” of man? Why is he here and how can he live a life that is profitable to himself, to God, to his fellow man? Note that it is not to make a name for himself or acquire great riches, Ecclesiastes 2:1-6. Neither is it in having others serve him and cater to his every whim, 2:7. It is not in possessing what man views as “greatness,” power or the gratification of fleshly lusts, 1 Kings 11:1-4. For Solomon it was not in the building of great edifices, 1 Kings 11:5-12. Not even in the building of the temple, 1 Kings 6, ornate and beautiful though it was. No, Solomon’s greatness would come to him only when he humbled himself and was willing to “fear God and keep His commandments.” No getting away from that principle.
When we read of his life, it was not a life of greatness, but of wasted wisdom, wealth and opportunity. Looking further into his life we find that his legacy is seen even in a son that followed his father’s path, eventually abdicating his own leadership to “advisors,” and an eventual divided kingdom.
|We see a fragment of Solomon’s legacy centuries later in those of Samaria who split away from Judah and Benjamin. Jesus told a woman that the Samaritans “worship what you do not know,” John 4:22.
Let us not forget, however, that this obedience to God is not a blind allegiance. God’s existence is capable of proof. His commandments are not grievous, or “burdensome” to us, 1 John 5:3. Genuine peace and contentment are possessed by those who “fear God and keep his commandments.”
It makes sense to respect God and His word. The hope of eternal life is in the balance.
By the way, what’s happening in your life?
