Verse of the Day 6/26

Ecclesiastes 2:11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.  English Standard Version (ESV)

The other day I had quoted a couple of stanzas from the hymn "A Mighty Fortress".  One line that has stuck with me for a few days was "let goods and kindred go".  Normally, when we think of the word kindred, we think of family.  I don't think that Martin Luther was telling us to let family go, more likely it was "goods" and their like, their family, other possessions, virtually anything else that would take up time and resources and keep us away from the greater pursuits in life.

Solomon was one the wisest and richest men that the world has ever known but he was not immune to going after the wrong things.  He chased many things and came to the realization of today's verse.  Without God, without Him in first place, it is vanity, a chasing of the wind.

Whenever I read this verse and spend some time in Ecclesiastes, I also think of the Steve Green song "A Chasing of the Wind" which asks a question that each of us should ask ourselves and will be asked of us at the end of our days.  For some it will be "why did you live without Jesus".  May it not be said of us.

All achievements, all possessions    All with time return to dust    Only God can be our reason    For deep and quiet trust    He will guard us from the dangers    That gladly make men fools    Apart from Him and all His meaning    All things fail as they begin    And hearts deceived    Can only know    A chasing of the wind    A chasing of the wind        Why do we live without Jesus?    Why do we waste another day?    He is the life that sustains us    The only hope for us today    So tell me, why do we live    Why do we live without Him?

At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon has good advice for us, perhaps his wisest statement, literally saying the sum of all things, all his great wisdom and wealth, is this:

 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13English Standard Version (ESV)

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Ecclesiastes 2:11-14The Message (MSG)

I Hate Life

¹¹ Then I took a good look at everything I'd done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.

^12-14 And then I took a hard look at what's smart and what's stupid. What's left to do after you've been king? That's a hard act to follow. You just do what you can, and that's it. But I did see that it's better to be smart than stupid, just as light is better than darkness. Even so, though the smart ones see where they're going and the stupid ones grope in the dark, they're all the same in the end. One fate for all—and that's it.