Solomon, “The Preacher,” is drawing to a conclusion in this remarkable book where, as we have seen in earlier meditations, he finds that a life lived “under the sun” (i.e. not lived for God but where God is forgotten, as though He didn’t exist) is meaningless. There is nothing truly new - everything that happens has essentially happened before (see number 24). We know that something is wrong in this world and we know that we were made for better things (we have eternity in our hearts) but we cannot see a way to get to that better place - indeed it is impossible for those who remain “under the sun” to get there (see number 26). We also know that we are going to die and we have a sense of injustice that good people and bad people all suffer the same fate, often without any apparent consequences for the way they lived. Indeed, from an “under the sun” perspective, there are no appropriate consequences and it really doesn’t matter what we do with our lives (see number 32).
Over all this gloomy analysis of the state of man and the purpose of his existence, Solomon places a banner on which are the words, “Everything Under the Sun is Pointless, Meaningless, Purposeless.” And he is right, isn’t he? Our lives here make no sense at all, they amount to nothing. They have no destiny except death, if we forget God and live “under the sun.” If we ignore the sense of eternity that is in our hearts, and tune out the voice of God proclaiming His eternal power and divine nature to us through the things He has made, and the testimony He has left us in the Bible, what are we left with? Pointlessness.
It is only as we live in the light of God’s existence that we come to see that:
- He made us for a reason, but we turned our backs on His purposes for us;
- He is in the business of making something totally new in a place (under the sun) where there is nothing new;
- He is putting to rights the mess that we made of His perfect creation, so that all the evils introduced because of our rebellion will be eliminated;
- He is just and none of the wickedness committed on the earth will be overlooked by Him. No-one will feel that justice has not been done by the time He has finished His judgment;
- He has even overcome death by sending Jesus to the cross to die as a substitute for those who will trust Him to save them;
- we can therefore experience and enjoy God and the eternity He has placed within us can find its fulfillment in Him.
There is a popular form of meditation today called “Mindfulness,” in which we are taught to enter a state of active, open attention to the present. This state encompasses observing one’s thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad. I bring it up because the word Solomon uses here for “remember” also means “be mindful of”. As we have seen, though, Solomon declares that the present, if not lived for God, is meaningless and has no purpose. Instead, he wants us to think about eternal things - to pay attention to the eternity that God has placed in our hearts. He wants us to understand that the things we think and do are good or bad, and that they will come into judgment. So then, we must indeed be mindful, but mindful of God, if we want to get out from “under the sun!”
Solomon points out again that death is certainly coming for each of us. He uses several word pictures from verses 2 to 8 to impress on us that this is the case. We are headed to an “eternal home,” and it is critical to make sure that this is heaven and not hell. So he presses us to act on the teaching that he has given (to remember God), and the sooner, the better. Until we do, our lives will be just a pointless vapor that is here and then gone, and which no-one will remember. Evil days will come to us all, says Solomon, when it may not be possible to seek God for this change. Don’t wait until you are too set in your ways to humble yourself and ask Him for salvation. Don’t put it off until a more convenient time, because you will never have a more convenient time than now!
There is a real sense of lostness in a life that is made for relationship with God, but where it doesn’t exist because of sin. That is the inevitable conclusion of Solomon’s reasoning but it doesn’t have to be the inevitable end to the story of our lives.
So be mindful of your Creator while you may! Turn from your sins and cast yourself on Jesus and His finished work at the cross to save you and to give you life that is truly life!
