"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." (Ecc. 3:11)
I have been in Ecclesiastes for the last four days. I wonder how many "favorite-texts" people ever read Ecclesiastes. It is the last of Solomon's works. Proverbs and his "Song" were the writings of love and wisdom. But what does one conclude from Ecclesiastes? I see an old man with whom life finally "caught up." Once he was young and extremely prosperous, deeply in love (could we say the "perfect marriage"?). Now he is looking over his life. He has come to the realization that wealth, though all who rail on wealth still wish they had it, is fleeting, passing as a summer's breeze. In chapter four, He realizes, "Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more." What a lesson to us all.
In the midst of his reminiscing, in the midst of seeing the futility of so much of what he pursued earlier in life, he also realizes two things. First, "He has made everything beautiful in its time," which could imply that if we could just see, or had seen, Jesus' "timing" in our lives, how much more we would have appreciated those people, events, trials, etc., which at the "time" we did not appreciate (just a thought). Secondly, he says something which confounds all those who say, "Well, what about people who never heard?" He says, "....He has put eternity into man's heart...." (ESV) The context reveals that he is speaking of all men, in every nation, every culture, every people group. No personages whoever walked Planet Earth were without, "eternity in their hearts." Just remember; those people you talk to who look at you as though your were crazy, nonetheless have, "eternity in their hearts." I leave it there.
Then Solomon says something quite interesting. Yes, "He has put eternity into man's heart," but in such a way, "that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (ESV), even though this has been the pursuit of humanity ever since the Garden. I conclude that we may all have eternity in our hearts, but without a personal relationship, a relationship of submission and obedience to and in Jesus Christ, everything, "God has done from the beginning to the end," will be a confused blur. Yes, there is so much which you and I will never understand, comprehend, perceive, nor be able to explain of, "what God has done," and is doing neither, "from the beginning," nor, "to the end." But unlike the chaos we see in the earth, chaos among governments, other institutions of man, and individuals, you and I can have the, "peace which passes all understanding," and the, "I will give you rest," of the Godhead made available to us only in Jesus. Rejoice today, my friend. "He has put eternity into [your] heart...."
Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for You in my heart. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
