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“Lessons from Our Wednesday Night Study on Ecclesiastes 7”
Categories: Christian life, wisdomHere are a few lessons we talked about on Wednesday night—thoughts drawn from Ecclesiastes 7.
STRANGELY BRIGHT
Joe Rigney wrote a little book called Strangely Bright in which he riffs off the song,
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
Rigney’s idea is just opposite—when we understand God’s grace and Jesus’ wonder and beauty, the things of the earth will grow strangely bright. The more we grow in godly wisdom, understand the character of God, see how He works, and trust His judgment, the more this earth means to us. It doesn’t become less real; it becomes more real. The colors are more vivid, the smells more wonderful, the sounds more musical.
10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
THE HOUSE OF MOURNING
Pondering the day of our death is good. What do we have to look forward to after we die? We think about the end of all men…for what are we striving? Are we resting, even in our labor? Are we working from a platform of resting in God’s strength and promises? Or are we so narrowly focused on THIS LIFE that we miss the meaning of life altogether?
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
DON’T BE SO ONLINE
This is getting harder and harder. What did the new President do today to make headlines and shake up the world? Is our country going to conquer the world or will it be overthrown in a few years? What are Taylor Swift and Kanye West doing at the grammy’s that is so important? Look at all the shiny pictures of my neighbors and acquaintances on FaceGram and X-book. We get so lost in all the madness, the churning and burning of a downright foolish world, and we get distracted from the gift of life that God has given us to enjoy right this very day and hour. Here we are. What blessings do we have to count today? What blessing can I be to the people around me today? How can I bless the name of the Lord right now?
5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.
