Making Sense Out Of Life

INTRO.- Some things in life just don’t make good sense, do they?

ILL.- An orator in Hyde Park of London was speaking out against religion. He said, "My hatred of religion is something I came by honestly. My grandfather was an atheist; my father was an atheist; and, thank God, I’m an atheist, too."

Atheism doesn’t make sense to me.

Rom. 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..."

Atheism doesn’t make sense when you consider creation: the starry universe, plant and animal life, the wonder of the human baby and the human body.

ILL.- Charles Houser said, "Atheism never composed a symphony. Never painted a masterpiece. Never dispelled a fear. Never healed a disease. Never gave peace of mind. Never dried a tear. Never gave an intelligent answer to the vast mystery of the universe. Never gave meaning to man’s life on earth. Never built a just and peaceful world. Never built a great and enduring civilization."

Atheism doesn’t make sense. So with many other things.

ILL.- A grouchy husband came to breakfast one morning. His wife had cooked his breakfast. She had prepared two eggs: one fried and one scrambled, just like he always wanted. But the sour husband said, "Yes, just as I thought, you’ve done it again."

"Now what’s wrong?" asked his wife. He shouted, "As usual, you fried the wrong egg!"

Grouchiness in the home doesn’t make good sense to me. Especially, not when someone is trying to do their part to make the home what it should be, to make home a happy place.

Phil. 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfishness...but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

Some people are very selfish in life. They want everything their own way and when they don’t get it, they like to let everyone know about it. But it shouldn’t be this way!

There are many things in this world that don’t make sense to us: drinking and drug abuse, war, crime, greed, insensitivity, hatred, violence, 9/11, child abuse, pedofilia, and many other things.

Yes, many things that don’t make sense to us in life, and if we don’t have a Biblical sense about us, nothing will make much sense to us!

ILL.- Someone said the Bible contains:

- The mind of God

- the state of man

- The way of salvation

- The doom of sinners

- The happiness of believers

- Light to direct you

- Food to support you

- Comfort to cheer you

And I might add: sense to direct you!

ILL.- Horace Greeley said, "It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people."

We must view things from a Biblical perspective! It’s the only way to make sense out of life! Reading God’s Word will help you to understand what is going on in this crazy world of ours!

The more you read and glean from Scripture, the better understanding you’ll have about all of life.

Eph. 5:17 "Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." Don’t be foolish. Don’t be senseless. Understand what is going on by seeking the Lord’s will in His Word.

PROP.- There are three words from our text in Eccl. 3 that can help us to make sense out of life.

1- Balance

2- Beauty

3- Burial

I. BALANCE

V. 1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."

ILL.- A golfer came home from a hard 18-hole golf match with some of his buddies. His wife greeted him and said, "Well, honey, did you win the game today?" "Well," he said, "Let’s put it this way. I GOT TO HIT THE BALL MORE TIMES THAN ANYONE ELSE."

ILL.- Someone said "A fishing enthusiast thinks that fish should bite on a fancy lure just because he did."

To each his own activity. What’s your thing? What’s your bag of tricks? What turns your crank? What’s excites you about life? Golf? Fishing? Hunting? ? Running? Lifting weights? Wood-working? Gardening? Shopping? Traveling? Sight-seeing?

None of these activities are bad, but they must be kept in a proper balance in order for a person to have a better life.

ILL.- After my father passed away twenty years ago my mother dated or ran around with a man named Ralph Lee. Ralph and mom went to breakfast together nearly every day. They went to the community center and played cards and occasionally, some other functions. Going out to eat was their favorite function.

Ralph was a millionaire. He worked all his life to make money and often, he’d work seven days a week. Ralph knew how to make money, but Ralph didn’t know how to live! Ralph didn’t have a proper balance in his life. He put money before the Lord and before almost everything and everyone else. How sad!