Our background photo shows a wearisome set of stairs. What you can’t see is that these stairs extend endlessly higher than can be seen in the photo. Up, up, and further up … they climb!! Exhausting!
The gate to the left of the photo looks tired and weary! The surrounding walls look tired and weary! The stairs look tired and weary!
This is life!
The relentless “climbing the ladder.” Always trying to get just one more step ahead. If I can just get a little bit higher, surely I will reach paradise. A better house. A new car. A new job. A promotion. A raise.
A better vacation … in a more glamorous location. Fabulous photos for social media. More “Likes” … more “Followers.”
A better body. Pills for a better body. Surgery for a better body. Nutrition and workout programs for a better body. Creams and beauty products for a better body. More beautiful clothes for a better body.
Climbing! Climbing! Climbing! Wearisome climbing up the “ladder of life” … only to never seem to reach paradise. No matter how high we climb, the stairs keep extending further on up.
This is the book of Ecclesiastes. This is what life lived apart from God looks like.
Our background photo today was taken from a place where if you were to turn around 180 degrees, you would be presented with a completely different path to the top. This path is wide and level … leading to vast, expansive vistas of beauty! Yes, there are still stairs. And yes, the stairs do climb up and up. But these are not wearisome stairs. These stairs traverse a windswept hillside, full of life and flourishing.
This is what life lived for God looks like.
Psalm 16:11 – “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.”
Proverbs 4:11-12 – “I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.”
The book of Ecclesiastes presents a grim outlook on life lived apart from God.
“So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. … What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief.” – Ecclesiastes 2:17, 22-23
Life is hard. This is true.
The desire deep within each of us is to somehow find paradise. Surely paradise will make life worth living. But we can never find paradise apart from God. The author of Ecclesiastes realized this:
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; … That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11-13
Yes, life is a hard climb up the staircase … but it doesn’t have to be meaningless … not if we are living our life for God and for His purposes. We can have satisfaction. We can find fulfillment. We can experience joy!
“When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work – this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.” – Ecclesiastes 5:19-20
Jesus Christ in the book of Ecclesiastes – Jesus is the “one Shepherd” (Ecclesiastes 12:11) who gives us words of wisdom by which we can attain the path of life, and ultimately attain Paradise.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 – “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
