“Thou hast made us for thyself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee.” Augustine (c.354-430)
It’s intriguing to read that people have been struggling with the meaning of life for millenia. Solomon, the wisest man to have ever lived, reflected on the vanity of life in the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes. He chronicled the endeavors he pursued in search of fulfillment in life and purposefully applied his mind and wisdom to exploring the many avenues that people have resorted to for centuries in pursuit of peace, including building houses, planting vineyards and gardens, and accumulating all manner of wealth. He equated all of it to chasing after the wind.
People still attempt to fill the emptiness inside with all manner of work and pleasure, yet with the same futility that Solomon found thousands of years ago.
After exploring all of the pursuits in life available at that point in time, Solomon decided to “test” the impact of pursuing pleasure. His conclusions were the same; he likened laughter to madness and “the pull of wine” to foolishness. All of it resulted in futility in Solomon’s eyes. Life still deals us monotony and hopelessness today, just as he observed and experienced then. People still attempt to fill the emptiness inside with all manner of work and pleasure, yet with the same futility that Solomon found thousands of years ago.
Establishing and maintaining the connection to our Creator fills the emptiness and allows us to enjoy what we have here on earth as well as anticipate the rewards of Heaven.
So where does that leave humanity? Are we to settle with lives of meaninglessness and empty pleasure? Solomon goes on in chapter three to reassure the reader that God makes everything beautiful in His time and that He has set eternity in the human heart (v. 11). He points out that people can find enjoyment in life and satisfaction in their work–these are some of God’s gifts to us (v. 12). In the final chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon admonishes us to fear God and keep His commandments. Establishing and maintaining the connection to our Creator fills the emptiness and allows us to enjoy what we have here on earth as well as anticipate the rewards of Heaven. Only He can provide the meaning we long for in this life.