Make It Count
Life is short. Time flies. Once a day is gone, you can’t get it back. All sayings we know and have personally experienced. But do they impact our moment-by-moment lives? It’s one thing to understand this concept in our heads and another to use it to make the most of today, tomorrow, the next day….
I recently finished reading Ecclesiastes. It’s an Old Testament poetical book that speaks to and proves the meaningless of life. As you might imagine, it’s quite a page turner! Although it’s not the place to go in the Word if you need encouragement, it can help put things into perspective. This is how it begins…
"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?... The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. … All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. (Eccl 1:2-3,5,7 NIV)
Ecclesiastes 1:9 reminds us of the routine, monotony, and impossibility of true creativity in this world beneath the heavens: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (NIV) Nine times in six chapters the author, believed to be King Solomon, refers to things we normally think give life purpose as a chasing after the wind (Ecc 1:14,15; 2:11,17,26; 4:4,6,16; 6:9). What should our response be to all this? To give up or skip over this portion of Scripture? No, to make the most of every day. And Solomon tells us how to do it…
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man. (Eccl 12:13 NIV) What a gift to know how to escape the meaninglessness of life and instead make it count!
Just something I’m being more intentional about along the way.
