What’s the Point? - September 2

Read Ecclesiastes 2:22-25 (ESV)

What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

Reflect

Have you ever achieved a goal only to discover a feeling of emptiness or disillusionment after the accomplishment? What is it that truly gives your life meaning and purpose?

In the documentary American Gospel: Christ Alone, a pastor named Costi Hinn shared part of his story. He experienced the emptiness of worldly things in a unique way. His uncle is “prosperity gospel” televangelist, Benny Hinn. Costi was a part of his uncle’s worldwide “faith healing” ministry which falsely taught that people would be healed if they gave enough money out of faith. He grew up in a mansion with a separate vacation home, drove expensive cars, traveled on a private jet, stayed in luxury resorts and hotels, and wore custom suits. He lived a lavish lifestyle! And yet, he experienced this feeling of emptiness. He’d get a flashy new car, but would soon be thinking of the next new car he wanted to get. None of it satisfied.

Maybe you can relate in a way. As children, we desperately want certain toys for our birthdays but soon they are collecting dust or buried at the bottom of the toybox while we beg our parents for the next thing. As young adults, we think life will be complete when ____. When we finally graduate, when we land the dream job, when we meet “the one,” when we start a family, when we get a raise, when we can buy our dream house, when we can take that amazing trip, when we can finally retire… But we all know that once we accomplish any one of those things, we move on to the next big thing. Why? Because none of it fulfills us quite like we’d hoped it would. It often leaves us wondering, “What’s the point? What’s the meaning of life? Is this all there is?”

It’s a philosophical question that King Solomon wrestled with in the book of Ecclesiastes. In 2 Kings, we learned that King Solomon had a whole lot of wisdom, wealth, and women. And yet he wrote, “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). In other words, it’s all pointless. The wise and the fool, the righteous and the evil, the rich and the poor—all experience the same fate. We all live and then we die.

But King Solomon’s thesis that life’s pursuits are meaningless isn’t as depressing as it sounds. Solomon pointed out that all of life is “vanity” or meaningless, only when life’s pursuits are considered an end in and of themselves. But when we see our lives the way that God sees them, we see that our lives are gifts from Him. In today’s verses, Solomon wrote that toil and striving are frustrating and seem pointless unless we understand that life is a gift from God that we should enjoy.

Plus, this world isn’t all there is. In Ecclesiastes 3:11, Solomon wrote that God has “put eternity into man’s heart.” We all have this sense that there has to be more to life than this. And there is—eternity! This is the Scarlet Thread found in Ecclesiastes. We have a God who created us on purpose, for a purpose, and He has made a way for us to live forever with Him. But we can’t experience this fulfillment apart from Christ. Ecclesiastes 12:11 says, “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.” Who is this one Shepherd? In John 10, Jesus identified Himself as the good shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep and is the only way to the Father.

Friends, the key to a meaningful life is having a relationship with the God who gave us this life. Trying to live your best life apart from Christ will prove futile. If you are wondering “what’s the point?” try living for the Lord with the Lord, not for yourself and on your own.

Respond

Lord, I confess that I have tried to find meaning in my life apart from You. But it has never satisfied me. Thank You for making a way for me to have a relationship with You. You are the point of life and glorifying You is my life’s purpose. Amen.

Reveal

Ask someone you know what gives their life a sense of meaning and purpose. Listen carefully to their answer, then share how your relationship with Christ gives your life purpose beyond accomplishments, possessions, or circumstances. Encourage them to consider what lasts for eternity.