28 MAY 2024 devotional

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 3)

You can see it on their faces. Boredom. Fatigue. Hopelessness. No direction. People all around us - caught up in the web of working to pay bills, support their families, provide a home, etc. They see no end to it all. We are nothing but work horses caught in the trap of some unseen task master that beats our backs daily, making us perform tasks we don't enjoy to pay people we don't like for things we are told we just have to have.

People watching is a favorite pastime of mine. I love watching people move around. I love looking into peoples' eyes - seeing their souls in the reflection. Some people seem to have it all figured out until you look deeply into them. Some people are silently desparate - looking for answers to questions they can't even articulate. Others seem to have already checked out - abandoned ship - because of the futility of it all. Then you meet that one who has a sparkle in their eyes, their souls are fully alive, they seem to have a grasp on the big picture. They know who they are and where they are going. These are my people.

And yet, what do we do with the rest? We are not called to just identify the lost, the desparate, the hopeless. We are not appointed to identify them, then cast them back out like so many catch-and-release fish to be pursued and caught again. We are anointed by God to catch and keep. We are empowered to give them hope, to give them life, to show them the Way. That is our mission while on this earth.

The Book of Ecclesiastes is accredited to King Solomon. In this book he is looking back over his (believed to be 80+ years of) life and evaluating it. From this viewpoint (hindsight is 20/20), he is better able to size up everything he has done, see the end results, and give a wise accounting. I love reading Ecclesiastes because it gives me the wisdom of Solomon's years without having to live through it all. It highlights what works and what doesn't. If we have (in the words of Jesus) ears to hear, we can be projected decades - even centuries - ahead of those around us just by avoiding the pitfalls of life.

In his opening statements of the book, Solomon writes that everything is vanity - a loose translation of the original word meaning "smoke or vapor." Here one minute, gone the next. It means that things we chase after and grasp so longingly are just a mirage - they have no lasting value, they offer no material comfort, and they are only temporary. Solomon wrote that everything is meaningless - a chasing after the wind. By the end of the book, he does finally offer words of advice to all who read. I encourage you to read through the book and learn from him.

What, then, does it all mean? The old song "Is That All There Is?" is playing in the back of my mind as I write these words. The world is seeking meaning - something that ties everything together, answers. We, fellow Christians, are supposed to have those answers. That is why we are told in scripture to study to show ourselves approved, workmen appointed and chosen by God. Only then can we bring true light and hope to those around us.

Today I challenge you (and myself) to study the Word of God more intently, to pray more earnestly, and to look into the eyes and mannerisms of those we meet. See their pain, their loneliness, their hopelessness. But more importantly, address those issues with the mighty, life-giving Word of God in love. Just as Jesus responded to only those reaching out to Him, see those around you, whom God has placed in your path. Hear their plea in their words, feel their pain in their touch, see the desparate cry in their eyes. Then, be Jesus to them. As John wrote, "As He is, so are we in the world."

Be blessed.