Living in Joy because you are in Christ

Ecclesiastes 6: 1-6

 

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.   If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.   For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness, its name is covered.   Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he.   Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?

 

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?  For what can a man give in return for his soul?  Great questions, that require one to give thought to why he is spending so much time acquiring wealth, who is going to end up with it, and will they use it wisely, or foolishly?  Labor and hard work is a good thing, but if it is all a person has in life, it is a pity for they missed the blessing of God.  It matters not if a man stays single and has a personal relationship with the Lord, he has the most important thing in life.

 

I found great pleasure in reading Brennan Manning's “The Ragamuffin Gospel” and he tells the story of an older man on a bridge praying.  A priest is passing over the bridge and seeing the man, stops to see what he is doing and see that he was praying in earnest to the Father.  “MY son you must be close to the Lord, the man answered, yes He is very fond of me.”

 

If you think other than the old man about your relationship with the Lord, could it be you have a performance-based religion?  Not on grace, not on mercy, and not on the Love for you that was required to allow His Son, His only Son to take your punishment?

 

 

From the Back porch,

 

Bob Rice