Providence

Life ‘under the sun’ is hard.

Between pandemics, unjust deaths, or destructive riots, it seems our world cannot satisfy the needs in people’s hearts for equality, peace, and justice. Early in Solomon’s reign, God told him to ask for anything, and Solomon asked for wisdom to govern his people well. God was so pleased He not only gave Solomon wisdom, but He gave him limitless wealth, resources, and power. Despite all of this, Solomon turned and went on a quest to find meaning apart from God. He sought comedy, drunkenness, knowledge, sex, art, and in the end turned up as empty as he was before. The pleasures of this world bring no satisfaction by themselves.

The things of this world cannot satisfy our hearts. To toil and build a life only to die before we are happy and leave it behind is empty. It’s a goose chase without a goose! To have “a little more of this world,” a little more of the wrong thing, will NEVER satisfy. Quantity is not our problem.

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” – C. S. Lewis

Life in this world always ends too soon. No matter how wise or wealthy or powerful, we die, and after a brief service to commemorate our life work, people go on till they die. Soon we’re forgotten. Our day will come before this world can satisfy.

Our pursuits in life after worldly things lead to selfish despair. One day, our kids will sell or toss our hard-earned stuff, paint the house, we spent our lifetime fixing up, red, and rent it to college students, who have no regard or thought of the effort and money that lives in the walls and floors that surround them. If we conclude the pursuits of this life are all there is, we get selfish, and we’re never so empty as when we are full of ourselves. When God’s grace & generosity are not in our lens, we resist giving grace and generosity.

But, we can be assured that meaning in this life can only be found through Jesus. God sent Jesus as our Rescuer, and He said, “Something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42). Solomon could inform, but nothing more. Jesus died for our sin and rose from the grave with an invitation to forgive and fill all who trust Him. God sets His pleasure on all who trust in His Son!


 

SERMON NOTES 

  1. Life ‘under the sun’ cannot satisfy your heart. (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11) 

  2. Life ‘under the sun’ ends too soon. (Ecclesiastes 2:12-17) 

  3. Life ‘under the sun’ leads to selfish despair. (Ecclesiastes 2:18-23) 

  4. Life ‘under the sun’ is given meaning through Jesus. (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26)

    1. Matthew 12:41 — Jesus is the true and greater Solomon.

    2. Hebrews 11:16 — With faith, it is entirely possible to please God.

 

INTROSPECTIVE QUESTIONS 

  • Do you understand and accept that just a little more of this world will never be enough? 

  • Have you acknowledged the brevity of life on earth? 

  • Are you sober-minded when it comes to selfishness in your heart? 

  • Have you trusted Christ who came to rescue us from the brokenness of this world? 

 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

“ If you conclude that brevity equals meaningless, then you are imitating Solomon’s error, not learning his lesson. If there is no God, purpose, or heaven; adding brevity to emptiness is intolerable. But if there is a God, a Rescuer, purpose, and heaven, then life is meaningful and the runway for eternity.” – Brian Frost

With this in mind, we must wait upon the Lord. Recognizing that perfect justice is coming means we can wait and we can love.

 

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