Time for a poem and an excerpt from the PhillipYancey book I'm reading (on my phone) that
inspired it, more on the subject from Ray Stedman, and a GDW I just read from Steve Troxel.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
"(God) has set eternity in the human heart."
ETERNITY
(Could it be?)
God is perfect:
Could it be He knows
the beginning from the end,
and everything in between.
God is faithful:
Could it be He understands
His purpose in our seeming chaos
and all things do work together for good.
God is able:
Could it be He planned ahead,
and put in order the only way
to rescue us from sin and death.
God is love:
Could it be He always knew,
long before the day you were born
what it would take to save you.
It's not a question, it's a fact.
J. E. Pollock
Apr 18, 2013
The Bible Jesus Read
by Philip Yancey
Ecclesiastes endures as a work of great literature and a book of great truth because it presents both sides of life on this planet: the promise of pleasures so alluring that we may devote our lives to their pursuit, and then the haunting realization that these pleasures ultimately do not satisfy. God's tantalizing world is too big for us. Made for another home, made for eternity, we finally realize that nothing this side of timeless Paradise will quiet the rumors of discontent.
The Teacher completes his sentence: "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." That is the point of Ecclesiastes in a nutshell. The same lesson Job learned in dust and ashes---that we humans cannot figure out life on our own---the Teacher learns in a robe and palace. In the end, the Teacher freely admits that life does not make sense outside of God and will never fully make sense because we are not God. As Kierkegaard remarked, "If a man's life is not to be dozed away in inactivity or wasted in bustling movement, there must be something higher which draws it."
In the Teacher's words,
As you do not know the
path of the wind, or
how the body is formed
in a mother's womb,
so you cannot understand
the work of God, the
Maker of all things.
(11:5)
Unless we acknowledge our limitst and subject ourselves to God's rule, unless we trust the Giver of all good gifts, we will end up in a state of despair.
Ecclesiastes calls us to accept our status as creatures under the dominion of the Creator, something few of us do without a struggle.
Eternity On My Mind
by Ray Stedman
Read the Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:9-11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
The Searcher discovered three things. First, everything is appropriate and helpful to us, even those things that appear to be negative as well as positive. These are not curses and obstacles; they are God's blessings, deliberately provided by Him. Even our enemies are a blessing. Love your enemies, Jesus said, because they are valuable to you (Matthew 5:44). They do something for you that you desperately need. Our problem is that we have such a shallow concept of things, so we want everything to be smooth and pleasant. More than that, we want to be in charge, we want to limit the term of hurt or pain. But God will not allow us to take His place and be in charge.
The second thing the Searcher learned in his search is that there is a quality about life, about humanity, that can never be explained by the rationale of evolution. No animal is restless and dissatisfied when its physical needs have been met. Observe a well-fed dog sleeping before the fire on a cold day. It is with its family, enjoying itself, not worried about anything. A human in that same position will soon feel a sense of restlessness. There is something beyond, something more he or she is crying out for. This endless search for an answer beyond what we can feel or sense in our physical and emotional needs is what is called here eternity in man's heart. St. Augustine said, Thou has made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they learn to rest in Thee. People are the only worshiping animals. What makes them different cannot be explained by evolutionary procedure. They are different because they long for the face of God. C.S. Lewis said, Our Heavenly Father has provided many delightful inns for us along our journey, but he takes great care to see that we do not mistake any of them for home. There is a longing for home, there is a call deep in the human spirit for more than life can provide. This itch that we cannot scratch is part of God's plan.
The third thing that the Searcher learned is that mystery yet remains. We are growing in our knowledge, but we discover that the more we know, the more we realize we do not know. The increase of knowledge only increases the depth of wonder and delight. In the sovereign wisdom of God, we cannot solve all mysteries. As the apostle Paul put it, We see but a poor reflection as in a mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12); we are looking forward to the day when we shall see face to face.
We cannot know all the answers to all the conundrums and enigmas of life. That is why the exhortation of Scripture is always that we must trust the revelation of the Father's wisdom in areas we cannot understand. Jesus said over and over that the life of faith is like that of a child. Little children in their father's arms are unaware of many things that their father has learned. But, resting in their father's arms, they are quite content to let those enigmas unfold as they grow, trusting in the wisdom of their father. That is the life of faith, and that is what we are to do in our experience.
Thank You, Lord that You have placed eternity in my heart. Nothing can satisfy my deepest longings but You. Teach me to be content with simply resting in Your arms.
Life Application: What is it that clearly differentiates us humans from animals? Are we living in denial of that basic element, yet wondering why life seems meaningless?
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The path of a "successful" Christian walk is one of daily commitment to Christ and submission to the leading of His Spirit. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). Paul understood this commitment when he said, "I die every day" (1 Corinthians 15:31). Our old nature died when our heart was transformed by the Spirit of God; yet, there remains an on-going death which occurs as we continue our walk and battle temptations from a world which seeks to pull us away from Christ.
Our daily commitment, denial, and "self-death" can become a painful burden if we focus on our present circumstances. Anytime our walk is characterized by self-pity, and our trials become viewed as the heavy cross we must bear for Jesus, we have missed the true joy and peace - the true success - that God desires for our life.
1 Corinthians 15:19
"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."
If our hope in Christ is only for today's protection and blessings, then we have grossly underestimated the power of the gospel. This limited view of a Christian life will always fall short of our expectations. Through faith in Jesus, we have been given eternal life! This means the life we now live must be viewed on an eternal time scale.
When we place our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, our life begins anew. But this means far more than a fresh start. In an instant, EVERYTHING has changed. The burdens that were once so heavy must now be weighed against the magnificent glory of Heaven. And our "never-ending" trials must now be timed on the clock of eternity.
The world screams at us to focus on the here and now - on immediate gratification from what we can see and feel. It tells us life is short so fill it with sensual pleasures and tangible possessions. God's Word agrees that our earthly life is short; "A mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14). But it also teaches that our spiritual life continues forever! "What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).
We have been given new eyes! Let's begin to view our life in the context of eternity and gain the greater hope and power this view can provide today. Let's carry our cross with greater joy, live with more peace and contentment, and experience new victories in life's many battles. Let's find true success as we evaluate all areas of our life from an eternal perspective.
Have a Christ Centered Day!
Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries
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