The Joy of Glory

Discovering endless joy in the boundless glory of God…

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March 12, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 8

Ecclesiastes 8 (click here)
Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. 11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God. (Ecclesiastes 8:10-13)

Reflection
Perspective changes everything. Solomon often speaks of the injustice in all he observes “under the sun.” Many times, the wicked seem to enjoy the “rewards” of life while the righteous suffer. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Doesn’t this make pursuing righteousness vanity?

It would…if “under the sun” was the only perspective from which to view the world. However, Solomon is able to step back and somewhat view things from God’s perspective…an eternal perspective. From the vantage point of eternity he sees that it will be well with those who fear God…and for those who don’t fear God…well…let’s just say it “won’t be well.”

God is just and his justice enables us to live in peace amidst a world of seeming injustice. We can bless when we’re cursed, forgive when we’re wronged, worship amidst suffering…because we know that God will set all things right. We know that what happens under the sun is not the end, but that God will bring all to account when our days under the sun are done. He is just, and this frees us to live lives of love and forgiveness.

 

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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March 11, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 7

Ecclesiastes 7 (click here)
Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things—28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. (Ecclesiastes 7:27-29)

Reflection
Solomon has not only sought to understand his own life and search for satisfaction, but he has studied other people as well. He has tried to find out/figure out what makes them tick…what is everyone searching for in life…and at the end of the day he cannot make anymore sense of other peoples lives than he can of his own.

Every now and then he feels like he can understand another man (1 out of every 1000…not an impressive statistic), but he has never found a woman he can figure out…Ha! At least he’s honest.

After observing himself and others, he is only able to come to one conclusion…we are all broken. God made us upright and he did so for a reason. God made us with purpose and meaning, but we have gone astray from the plan and purpose of God and sought out our own schemes. This is ultimately why life feels pointless…because we have walked away from the point for which God designed life.

What is that God given point/purpose? I have a feeling that only God can tell us… and I have an even stronger feeling that he already has told us. Perhaps that is where Solomon is leading us.

 

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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March 10, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 6

Ecclesiastes 6 (click here)
Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man?12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun? (Ecclesiastes 6:10-12)

Reflection
Solomon recognizes that God is the one who has “named” all things…in other words…God rules over all things and man cannot argue with the ways of God. To try is to just produce vain words. But, the real question is why do we try to argue with God instead of trusting him?

We can’t even tell what will “be after us under the sun…” meaning that we don’t know what is going to happen in life. All we have is the present moment. We cannot see the whole of time from beginning to end as God can…so of course things often do not make sense to us and seem meaningless. Yet, while we complain about the seeming random edges of the puzzle piece of life we possess…God sees the whole puzzle coming together according to his perfect design.

Our response to the Lord should be trust. After all, it is vanity to argue with the one who is sovereign. The only response that makes sense and the only response that brings comfort by placing us in God’s sovereign care…is…trust. We live by trust…we live by faith.

 

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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