A Life Given To God

So, the thoughts from this lesson have been on my mind because of another book that I've been reading (called Don't Waste Your Life, by John Piper), but I read some more in Ecclesiastes and I learned some important things about God and about wisdom that seemed to jive with chapter two from this other book I've been reading. (I've actually found that the two books have a whole lot in common, except that Don't Waste Your Life talks more directly about Jesus because it was written after he came.)

All along I have tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, "I am determined to be wise." But it didn't really work. Wisdom is always distant and very difficult to find. (Ecclesiastes 7:23-24)

I not only know, because the Bible is talking about it, that this statement is true, but I can feel that this is true. I can feel that wisdom is such a hard thing to find and to know. Being wise is something that takes a very long time and many, many years of experience to have. I know that I am barely even on the edge of being wise. I'm somewhat wise in the percussion scene because I've been actively playing it for four years and now I'm a section leader in band because of that. I have a tiny bit of wisdom when it comes to talking about girls because I've had several girlfriends and learned a lot from them. I have a little wisdom when it comes to scriptures for no other reason than because the Holy Spirit dwells in me and blessed me with the gift of understanding the Bible. So, I know a little bit about wisdom, and I try my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions, but it seems like so often wisdom is just difficult and hard to find.

Later on in chapter eight Solomon is talking about his own search for wisdom. He says,

"In my search for wisdom, I tried to observe everything that goes on all across the earth. I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. This reminded me that no one can discover everything God has created in our world, no matter how hard they work at it. Not even the wisest people know everything, even if they say they do." (Ecclesiastes 8:16-17)

This spoke a great deal about God to me even though he's only mentioned as a side note in this verse. I just thought that it was interesting how the guy who has a "wise and understanding mind such as no one else has ever had or ever would have" (1 Kings 3:12) is saying that not even the wisest person (which would be himself) knows everything. Solomon is pretty high up there on the list of people who know a lot. It's pretty crazy to me that he is spending all this time searching for wisdom even though he's been made the wisest man ever. This is all so crazy to me because all this stuff that Solomon can't quite wrap his mind around, God created.

God, once again, is clearly a ridiculously powerful and amazing god. All this ceaseless stuff going on day and night, God knows. No man can possibly even discover all the things God has created and set in motion. I mean, there's really no words to say it. I could say that God is the wisest being that there is, but that's not right, because God created wisdom. In times that I seek wisdom all I can do is turn to God. Ecclesiastes says, "The wicked will never live long, good lives, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows." (8:13) I think that when this is talking about length it is not talking about the earth, because the verse before that Solomon is talking about how many people who sin live long lives. I think the main focus of this verse is the quality of life. That's why I italicized the word "good." I think the point that is being made here is that "Well, they might live long lives, but they won't live long, good lives." And it's because they don't fear God. It's because they don't follow Him. Because of this they loose all hope of gaining wisdom.

People who live in wickedness not only loose their hope of wisdom, but also any hope of an eternal life, stretching out like the evening shadows. Not life on earth, but life after earth. Talking about death Solomon says, "None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue those who practice it." (8:8) It is inevitable that someday we will all die. But those who follow God have been rescued from spiritual death, however wickedness will never save the wicked.

So, here's the part where I start wrapping up, and here's the part where I bring everything full circle and start talking about Don't Waste Your Life. When it comes down to wisdom and eternal life the only place we can receive these things is from the hand of God. No man, not even the wisest man, can know everything. So the only way we can become wise, and we can receive the gift of eternal life is to turn away from ourselves and to give our self to God. And I'll close with a quote from Don't Waste Your Life:

[Eternal life] is to know God and his Son, Jesus Christ. No thing can satisfy the soul. The soul was made to stand in awe of a Person--the only person worthy of awe. All heroes are shadows of Christ. We love to admire their excellence. How much more will we be satisfied by the one Person who conceived all excellence and embodies all skill, all talent, all strength and brilliance and savvy and goodness. This is what I have been trying to say. God loves us by liberating us from the bondage of self so that we can enjoy knowing and admiring him forever.