Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, there was no profit under the sun.
kjv
Then I thought about all that I had done and how hard i had worked doing it and I realized that it didn’t mean a thing. It was the chasing the wind – of no use at all. (Good News Translation) Ecc. 2:11
The preacher declares that as he examined his life.
He was born of a woman
Worked hard at school to ensure he had a good education
Left school and went to college
And pursued farther his education at the loftiest of universities
Obtained the job of his choice
Only to find at the end
It was all for nothing.
Yes he had money
Yes he had accumulated wealth
He had laid out his plans
And achieved his goals.
But still, he felt unfulfilled.
He felt empty
He experienced no sense of fulfillment.
Is this the experience of one man and one man alone. No it is not.
Secular psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote “ About a third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and emptiness in their lives. This can be described as the general neurosis of our time.” Carl Jung: Modern Man in Search of a Soul.
One of the reasons why Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” made it to the top of the New York Times bestseller list is the fact that his book has zoned in on this basic need within every single man and woman to discover why he is here and what meaning can be derived from life. It is the absence of meaning and purpose in the lives of so many people today, and especially in the lives of young people, that is causing so much substance abuse and promiscuity and suicide among the younger set. Dr. David Jeremiah- The futility of Life
A YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENT WROTE THIS SUICIDE NOTE
To anyone in the world who cares:
Who am I? Why am I living? Life has become stupid and purposeless. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. The questions I had when I came to college are still unanswered and now, I am convinced there aren’t any answers. There can only be pain and guilt and despair here in this world. My fear of death and the unknown is far less terrifying to me than the prospect of unbearable frustration, futility and hopelessness of continued existence. – Dr. David Jeremiah- The futility of Life
But what does Jesus have to say: In Luke chp. 12. He tells the parable of a rich man
Luke 12:16 – 20
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
But was it always so. When God made man he tended to the garden of Eden and felt fulfilled. But after sin entered, after he listened to the gift rather than the giver he became discontented and unfulfilled.
He felt naked.
He felt insecure.
He felt afraid.
Futility stepped in. Separation from God my friends bring futility. The Preacher tells us in Ecc. 3:11 That God has placed eternity in his heart. Surrounded by all the transient processes that occur around him, inside there is something that needs to be filled.
It is seeking to fill that space with the transient things of life that brings futility. Man has lost his way and have sought to find it in
Wealth
Status
Relationships
Achievement and even
Religious performance
But none of these can bring the necessary fulfillment that he desires.
Luke 18: 18-22
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. 20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. 21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
This rich young ruler claimed to be obeying all the commandments:
He did not kill
He did not steal
He did not and do not bear false witness- he does not lie
He honoured his father and his mother
He was saying you name it I have not done it. I have kept them all, from my youth to now. His moral standards were impeccable for a young man with riches. He felt no shame in kneeling before Jesus in a public road, as Mark give us an account in Mk 10:17. In fact so earnest was he that the bible said, he came running. No shame in asking a question which everyone thought he should know. Such expressions of humility!
Yet here he was dissatisfied with his life. He felt unfulfilled. Then Jesus exposed him for who he was; Jesus said: Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor and thou shat have treasure in heaven; and come follow me.
What was it that the young man lacked? What is this one thing that the young man lack that would cause him not to enter into the kingdom of God.
Let us look at another character in Matt. 22: 34-40
34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The one thing the young ruler lacked was LOVE.
Paul expounded on this in 1 corinthians 13:
And I will take the liberty to recite it here because of its importance to our salvation and that of others. Vs. 1-3 tells us
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains,
and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
To be fulfilled in this life you must develop a loving heart. A heart that is willing to bear the cross for others.
Jesus said in John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus demonstrated this love by forgiving each of and bearing the penalty for sin that we might not have to bear it.
Jesus puts this there as the ultimate test of love. There is no greater way to express love than to sacrifice what is most precious to you to save or help another. Paul puts it this way in
Romans 12 9 -13
9 Let love be without dissimulation.
Before we move on let us break down this big word: Dissimulation- What does dissimulation mean- It means hypocrisy- Acting- Pretending to feel something you don’t actually feel. Performing as if you love but not experiencing the emotion. Paul is asking us to genuine in our love. That is why God has to change our hearts-
The cold heart must go;
The vengeful heart must go
The jealous heart must go
The hateful heart must go
The resentful heart must go
The proud heart must go
Need i continue.
Paul says farther that the loving heart will:
Abhor that which is evil;
cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 not slothful in business; It will be
fervent in spirit;
serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope;
patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer; It will be
13 distributing to the necessity of saints;
given to hospitality. It will
14 Bless them which persecute you:
bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice,
and weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. It will
Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.
Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
That is why my brothers and sisters Paul admonishes us in Rom. 12: 1-2
12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
If we are to find fulfillment in this life. We can only find it in God. Only God can fill the hole he has placed in our heart. The bible tells us that God is love. 1 Jh. 4: 7-9
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Once you allow God into your heart you will not be able to suppress the urge to love others. TO do so will be to resist the Holy Spirit to our own spiritual detriment: 1st Jh. 4: 11-13
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
If God dwells in us then we will experience what the Psalmist David speaks about in Ps. 16:11
... In thy presence is fulness of joy and
at thy right hand there is pleasures for evermore.
As I come to an end, I cannot help but end with that beautiful text from 1 Corinth 13: 4-7. This tells us the signs we should look for that indicates that our hearts are being transformed into loving hearts. It tells us
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind;
charity envieth not;
charity vaunteth not itself,
is not puffed up,
5 doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own, (Is not selfish)
is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil;
6 rejoiceth not in iniquity,
but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 beareth all things, -(we bear each others burdens)
believeth all things, -(Gives others the credit Phil. 4:8)
hopeth all things, (keeps it eyes on God’s promises Romans 5:5)
endureth all things. – (loves stays when it would be easier to walk away. Rom. 12:12; James 1: 34)
You may say to yourself what Fergusson is saying is impossible. I can never be like that. I would like you to take a lesson from the story of the caterpillar.
It is hopeless, cried the caterpillar, I will never be able to soar like that he said, as he admired the beautiful butterfly which gently fluttered it wings and took off. How beautiful it appeared. What a boring branch-crawling worm I am. My only purpose is bird food. If only the caterpillar knew what God had in store for him. If only he would allow the LORD to work, his work of transformation in him. He would see what a beautiful butterfly he will be
Dwell on these words from 1 Corinth 2:9
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
