Ecclesiastes 1

“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9, ESV)

Have you ever questioned life’s purpose? We go to work to pay bills, we eat, sleep and enjoy leisure time, only to do it all over again…and again. And while our technology has changed, we seek to satisfy the same wants and needs as our ancestors. Is there more to life than accumulating stuff only to lose it all when we die? Solomon asked such questions. His wisdom drove him on to discover the meaning of life. He lived in such luxury and power that he could do whatever he wanted. So he indulged his senses, tried everything, built great projects, explored botany and zoology, wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. All this was a quest to discover man’s purpose in life.

But as Solomon grew older, his many foreign wives drew him away from the LORD. Rather than being a man after God’s own heart as his father David, he was double minded. Part of him wanted to please God, but the other part wanted to please self. His quest brought him to the point of crying out, “Vanity of vanities,” or “Everything is meaningless!” And the truth is that everything is meaningless apart from God. Meaning is found in knowing God and doing His will. This is not vanity, for our labor in the Lord in never in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

If we seek to discover life’s purpose by living for the flesh or for the world, then life will slip through our hands. But if we seek to live for God and for others, then we will discover true meaning and indescribable joy!

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25, NKJV)

As we celebrate our Lord’s birth and exchange gifts, let us remember that God gave His Son to us to save us from the futility of this world and to give us eternal life. Our life does not consist of the abundance of presents under the tree, but in the richness of our relationships with God and others.