Time really flies when life is preoccupied with work that is endless. Reflecting on a verse from Ecclesiastes 5: 8- 18 really spoke to me about just how finite and seemingly short it is. Life is really too short to be about ourselves. And God rightfully made it this way so we would fathom at His marvelous creation, that has withstood the merciless passing of time.
(this is a picture I took from the airplane.. can't even see any land in the vast ocean!)
Have you ever wondered just how small the Earth is in this galaxy that we don't even fully understand? Or even how small we are on the face of the Earth? Yet sometimes, as we live our lives, I get the feeling sometimes that we are living for ourselves. This life is all about me. How I want to do things, who I want to become, what I will do in the future..... and before I know it, i have already hit 23 years old.
After going abroad and pouring through videos about the world out there, living for myself seems too small a purpose to live for. When I am complaining about my new shoes giving me sores on my feet, probably somewhere else in the world people are running around without shoes.. :X
God really opened my eyes to see that life is not about us. If this life were all there is to it, how meaningless would it be the day we breathe our last. Perhaps this is best described in:
Ecclesiastes 5: 8- 18
" 8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
10 Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
there is nothing left for them to inherit.
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
that they can carry in their hands.
16 This too is a grievous evil:
As everyone comes, so they depart,
and what do they gain,
since they toil for the wind?
17 All their days they eat in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.
18 This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. 20 They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart."
10 Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
there is nothing left for them to inherit.
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
that they can carry in their hands.
16 This too is a grievous evil:
As everyone comes, so they depart,
and what do they gain,
since they toil for the wind?
17 All their days they eat in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.
18 This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. 20 They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart."
Indeed, life has too many things that we don't even make sense of before we die, yet one thing God revealed was for Man to enjoy the fruits of our labour, no matter how temporal it may be, truly, it is better to earn enough to enjoy life to the fullest compared to earning billions and not having the life to spent it.
I do hope as I grow into maturity in Christ, I will also learn to depend on the Lord, and just like verse 20 says (seldom reflect on the days of our life, as God keeps our hearts occupied with gladness in our hearts).
There has only been this One God, One Jesus, One Spirit who has stood the passing of time, for He is not confined by time as He made time to pass. Even though many faith giants in the bible lived only for a while, like a sparkle fading away, they did shine brightly for they knew God, where only the finite meets the infinite, the temporal meets the eternal, the previously wanderous aimless life filled with His purpose: to enjoy the gifts in our life and to enjoy getting to know Him.
I pray that you too finds assurance, rest, peace and joy in Him. =) God Bless You!
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