Meaningless?

Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.

At least, so states the author of Ecclesiastes, one of the most interesting and mysterious books of the Bible. And I confess, I can see from where he's coming when he writes that. We all have days, or when truly unfortunate, weeks or even years where the easiest truth to recognize deep in our bones is the meaninglessness that can pervade anything and everything in daily life.

So why, if this is the central refrain of the book, do I find myself so drawn to Ecclesiastes as not only a mysterious and true book, but one that is strangely comforting? For a long time, the best answer I could come up with is that deep down, we are designed for truth, and we gravitate towards it - long for it- even when it comes less than all dressed up. I liked it because there was truth there, in the same way that I love Psalm 42. "Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have crashed over me." Although I don't know exactly what this passage means, the context and just the verse itself seem to portray same truth that I meditated on in the post "Tree in a Hurricane" a week or two ago...sometimes it is from God's own hand that the waves of life originate, and yet, at the same time that we experience the roar of the waterfalls, we have intimacy with God - something deep about him, something deep in us, connecting. I may not be clear on the exact meaning, but I love the truth there.

Ecclesiastes does much the same thing for me as Psalm 42. It may point out reality in all its nitty gritty, but it affirms the way God is SO MUCH GREATER than me in a really obvious way. We can toil and strive, but it is striving after the wind...unless we find our contentment and pleasure in God. We can make idols out of relationships (great sermon today on this- Ecc 4:4-16) in which we make comparison or envy our motivation for achievement...but it is absurdity, as it is seeking from others the intimacy and contentment that only God can provide. We can do whatever it is we determine to do, but without God, it is meaningless absurdity. Mark, in the New Testament, confirms the truth of this, writing, "What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, but to forfeit his soul?" Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless...as none of it will save us, none of it will endure.

So then, do I write this to say that I am about to quit all work, abandon life activities, cast aside relationships as meaningless? Very clearly - no. This doesn't seem supported by the author of Ecclesiastes or any other book of the Bible. But, it does seem to suggest that next time I feel submerged in the meaningless, I should refocus on God who is the source of all that is meaningful and from whom derives eternal contentment and joy. Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless...until and unless we have Him who holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.