Imagine that God handed you a piece of paper and said, “Write down whatever you think will make your life happy and I will give it to you.”
What would you choose?
Wealth?
Power?
Fame?
A long life?
The Bible tells of a young man who was once given this opportunity. His name was Solomon, king of Israel.
He had just begun his reign when God came to him and asked, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you.”
What did Solomon choose? He chose something you and I probably would not have picked. He requested a discerning heart. He asked for wisdom.
God was pleased with Solomon’s choice and said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life” (1 Kings 3:11-14, NIV).
Maybe you’ve heard of the expression, “the wisdom of Solomon.” God gave to Solomon tremendous wisdom.
Toward the end of his life, Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes in which he shares his wise thoughts on what he calls “life under the sun.”
Life under the sun is life lived on the horizontal plane. It is life lived without God.
Solomon sums up his evaluation of life under the sun in the second verse of the book. He writes, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (NIV).
I. Life under the sun is meaningless and hopeless.
Remember that God had told Solomon that He would give him both riches and honor. So Solomon had the opportunity to enjoy all that life has to offer.
Though Solomon was the wisest man on earth, there came a time in his life when he drifted away from God and foolishly searched for happiness from the things of this world.
In chapter two he shares with us this quest for meaning. He writes,
I thought in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. “Laughter,” I said, “is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish? “ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well—the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired.
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labour.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun (2:1-11, NIV).
Solomon had experienced everything that life under the sun could offer. Yet when he assessed it all, he concluded, “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
We ask, “Solomon, how could you say that? You had it all!”
“No,” Solomon answers, “I really had nothing.”
Solomon’s search for lasting happiness had come up empty.
A. The things of this life do not satisfy.
With Easter morning eyes wide with anticipation, the little boy carefully lifts the chocolate bunny and bites into one of the long ears. But the sweet taste fades quickly, and the child looks again at the candy in his hand. It’s hollow!
Empty, futile, hollow, nothing . . . the words ring of disappointment and disillusionment. Yet this is the life-experience of many. Grasping the sweet things—possessions, power, and pleasure—they find nothing inside. Life is empty, meaningless . . . and they despair.
How many famous and wealthy people have ended their lives in despair? We think they should be the happiest people in all the world, but they’re not. Why? Because they have climbed to the top of the ladder and have found that there is nothing there. True happiness is not found there.
Alexander the Great, at the age of thirty-two, had conquered the known world, yet he wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. His tremendous accomplishments did not satisfy.
These are words from the lips of millionaires of the past:
Rockefeller—“I have many millions, but they brought me no happiness.
Vanderbilt—“The care of $200,000,000 is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.
John Jacob Astor—“I am the most miserable man on earth.
Henry Ford—“I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.
Andrew Carnagie—“Millionaires seldom smile.”
Ralph Barton, one of the top cartoonists of the nations, left this note pinned to his pillow before taking his own life: “I have had few difficulties, many friends, great successes; I have gone from wife to wife, from house to house, visited great countries of the world, but I am fed up with inventing devices to fill up twenty-four hours of the day.”
The things of this life do not satisfy.
B. The things of this life do not last.
Sadly, most people in this word live their lives for temporary things of life under the sun.
Jesus told a story of such a person. It went like this:
“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God”(Luke 12:19-21, NIV).
Will the tale of your life end like that foolish man’s? Are you so focused on the temporary things of life under the sun that your are missing what is truly important?
Charlemagne, it is said, gave instructions to be buried in the royal posture of a king upon his throne, with the Gospels opened on his knees, his sword beside him, and his crown upon his head.
When his tomb was later uncovered, there he was. The crown was still perched on his skull, and a bony finger rested on these words: “What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his own soul?” (NIV).
Graduates, if you go out and gain the whole world yet lose your own soul, you will have accomplished nothing. You will have only gained things that do not satisfy and do not last.
Solomon came to understand that life lived without God holds no meaning. It is an endless circle. We are busy doing the same things over and over again. What purpose is there to it all? There really is no purpose to it if God is left out.
Without meaning, there is no hope. What do we have to look forward to beyond this life if we exist for no reason? The Apostle Paul said if there is no hope beyond the grave, then “let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32).
Mark Twain, shortly before his death, wrote, “A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle . . . they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow . . . those they love are taken from them, and the joy of life is turned to aching grief. It (death) comes at last—the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them—and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence . . . a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever.”
Why did Mark Twain have such a depressing outlook on life? Because he had not discovered the meaning to life.
Life under the sun is meaningless and hopeless . . . that is my first point, and if I stopped there, I would only leave you discouraged.
Yes, life under the sun is meaningless and hopeless, but . . .
II. Life with the Son is full of meaning and hope.
A. How can you experience “life with the Son”?
1. Admit that you need Him.
2. Believe that He died for you.
3. Claim Him as your Savior.
B. Why would you want to experience “life with the Son”?
1. Life with the Son is full of meaning.
We are not here by accident. We have a Creator who put us on this earth for a reason.
Graduates, God has a purpose for your lives. You have a decision to make, though. You can choose to submit to God’s plan for your life, or you can go your own way.
Whichever road you take, in the end, you will discover that God’s way was the best way. Don’t learn that lesson the hard way.
2. Life with the Son is full of hope.
Not only does life with the Son give us meaning in this life, but it also gives us hope for the life to come—the life beyond the grave. This earthly life is not all there is. Eternity is waiting. Eternity is either heaven or hell. Life with the Son guarantees eternity with Him.
3. Life with the Son is abundant.
John 10:10—“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Life with the Son is abundant. It is rich and full.
1 Timothy 6:17—“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”
Psalm 37:4—“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” God wants to give you your innermost desires.
C. When should you begin your “life with the Son”?
Ecclesiastes 12:1—“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.”
The Lord Jesus gave us this wise advice:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).
Where is your heart? Do you treasure the things of this world , or do you treasure the things of God?
“What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
This world and all of its pleasures and treasures are temporary.
But your soul is eternal.
Graduates, “remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.”
Will you choose life under the sun or life with the Son?
