Lesson 12

What Life Is All About

Ecclesiastes 11:1-10

"To be or not to be - that is the question ..." Shakespeare's Hamlet and Solomon had something in common. Both wondered, "Is life worth living?" That was the issue that Solomon "the Preacher" raised when he began the discourse that we call Ecclesiastes. He investigated and studied and experimented and analyzed life "under the sun" (apart from God) and concluded "vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity" (1:2). Life is monotonous and mysterious and meaningless and miserable. And death is certain.

But what about life with God? Being a wise man, Solomon reviewed his conclusions, this time bringing God into the picture. What a difference God makes! The presence of God changes one's perspective on life. It moves you from futility to faith, from pessimism to promise, from doubt to discovery, from dreading death to living life. The last two chapters of this book are the admonitions and applications that Solomon settles on about life.

Life Is An Adventure - Be Bold, 11:1-6.

You may recall, when we studied chapter 1, that Solomon expressed the monotony of life. Life is a just a circle and a cycle - like the sun, like the water - nothing changes, nothing is new. But now, since Solomon has brought God into the picture, he says that life is not monotonous. Life is an adventure! You never know what's going to happen next. Four times in verses 1-6 is the phrase "thou knowest not" (vs. 2, 5, 5, 6). We do not know what bad things lie ahead, v. 2. We do not understand what and how and God does what He does, v. 5. We do not know which of our efforts will produce fruit, v. 6. Life is not monotonous. Everyday is an adventure!

Some of us are more adventurous than others. Some of us are afraid of taking risks. We would always choose to play it safe. I tend to be like that. I like the merry-go round more than the roller coaster ride. Once, when we were at King's Island, Larah and I were on the ferris wheel. Stuck at the top while during the process of unloading and reloading the ride, she was a little anxious and I was trying to reassure her. We had chosen the ferris wheel over one of the more adventurous rides. While we sat there, I looked up and saw Carla, actually I think I heard Carla, on the front row of the King Cobra, a roller coaster that you stand in and do several 360 degree loops and 90 degree turns. I shook my head and said, "Larah, look at your mother!" Now, I've gotten on some roller coasters but I don't like them. I only do it because of peer pressure. Occasionally, I might get the nerve to do something risky and adventurous, but it's not my nature. By nature, I am conservative with money (some people call that tight) and most other things. I am somewhat resistant to change. I like predictability. To people like me, God gives a Carla or a Greg or a Leah. God knows that we need some adventure added to our lives, or we will be dull, boring people. We will grow old while we are still young.

The words of the first six verses of chapter 11 call us, challenge us to be bold, to be willing to take risks, to overcome our fears. Life should have some merry-go-rounds - some pretty music and intricately painted wooden horses that go up and down and round and round with no threat of danger. But in life we also need some roller coasters, some adventures that go faster than we normally care to go, that take us to new heights and test our limits and make our stomach do a flip-flop. Life is not a monotonous cycle; it is an adventure. Be bold! Take risks!

Don't hold tightly to your bread. Release it! "Cast thy bread upon the waters" (v.1a). I would tend to put my bread in zip-lock bag and save it for a possible future use. I would save it for myself only to discover that is has molded and is lost to me and everyone else. My nature is to hold on to all I get but Solomon says, "Release it! Let go of it! Give generously! Share what you have with others. Cast thy bread upon the waters." The amazing thing is that when we let go, God is faithful in bringing back any number of benefits and blessings our way and we "find it after many days." Yes, it is risky to release but God has promised that what we release will return to us. This is one of the paradoxes of the Christian life. "Give and it shall be given you", "he that loses his life for my sake shall find it", "when I am weak then am I strong". Jesus said that in order to live you must die, to satisfied you must be starved, to be blessed you must be broken, to be a winner you must become a loser, to be great you must be a servant. The Christian life really is paradoxical. God promises bread to those who cast it upon the waters.  

This verse tells us to release, the next tells us to diversify. "Give a portion to seven and also to eight." Don't carry all your eggs in one basket. Life is an adventure. Don't get in a rut. I once read that there is a sign at the beginning of the Alaskan Highway that says, "Choose your rut carefully, You'll be in it for the next 200 miles." Some of us have been in a rut for years. It takes boldness to diversify. But the truth is that diversity protects us from losing. Because we do not know the future nor what bad things lie ahead, we should diversify. Most financial planners recommend that you diversify your investment of money. Diversity sounds risky but actually it is the safest thing to do. In the investment of one's life (which is far more valuable than money) we need also to diversify, to spread out our life in many directions. Don't be a one-dimensional person!

Verse 3 is a toughie. I'm not sure exactly what Solomon had in mind by these words. I think that Solomon is urging us to be more like a rain cloud than like a fallen tree. Clouds are always moving and changing. They empty themselves are different places upon the earth. Hopefully, over time, they spill out the needed moisture to every part of the earth. On the other hand, which ever direction a tree falls, there it lays until it rots away. Life is an adventure. Don't just lay in a rut till you rot, like a fallen tree, float around and bring showers of blessing to everyone!

We who are among the "non-risk-takers" are always waiting for perfect conditions. "I'm not sure if this is the right time," we argue. You can apply that to almost every area of the Christian life - giving, witnessing, joining the church. Verse 4 reminds us that if a farmer waited for perfect conditions would never sow a crop nor reap a harvest. We must recognize that some things require faith. We just cannot figure everything out (v. 5) so we must just trust God. We should "sow in the morning and in the evening" and trust God for the results. It's possible that only some of what we sow will produce a harvest and it is also possible that both what we have sown in the morning and in the evening will bring fruit.

Hey, life is not a monotonous cycle. Life is an adventure. Every day is an unknown mystery. Every day has new possibilities. Be bold! Release yourself. Diversify. Don't get in a rut. Don't wait for perfect conditions before you do something. Don't wait for all your questions to be answered. Sow your seed, morning, noon, and night, and trust God to bring the fruit.

Life Is A Gift - Be Joyful, 11:7-10.

Previously, Solomon had been cynical about life. He had said, "I hated life" (2:17). His heart had despaired (2:20) and he had felt like "all his days (were nothing but) sorrows" (2:23). In 4:3 and 6:3,he stated that it would have been better to never have been born. Not a very positive view of life, wouldn't you agree? The absence of God had left him quite distorted.

But now he is able to see clearly and to value life. "It's great to be alive!" he is saying in verse 7. The light of another day is a sweet and pleasant. Life is not miserable! Life is a wonderful and precious gift from God.

With that in mind, Solomon says that there are three things which every person should do.

Remember, v. 8. There are many "dark days" in life that should not be forgotten. The good times are better, sweeter, more pleasant when we remember how dark some days were. See also 7:2-5. Just as there are dark days behind us, there are also dark and empty days ahead of us - "All that cometh is vanity." So we should remember. Verse 9 has another reminder. The end of the verse tells us that we are going to stand before God and give account of our deed. Knowing that should cause us to do good and keep us from evil. We must live our life with eternity in view.

Rejoice, v. 9. Here, Solomon speaks directly to young people. He instructs them to take advantage of the days of youth before the dark days arrive. He is not saying that young people have no problems nor that adults have no joys. He is simply teaching a general principle that youth is a time for enjoyment before the problems of life start to reveal themselves. The older we grow the complex and complicated life seems to become. Those of us who are older need to remember that God expects young people to act like young people. But there is a time to "become a man and put away childish things." When Solomon says. "Walk in the ways of thine heart" he is not encouraging young people to sow wild oats or satisfy sinful desires. You must guard your heart and your eyes because either or both can lead you into sin. God will hold young people accountable for their sins, too. Enjoy the special pleasures that belong to youth. The word "vanity" in verse 10 means transient. The precious years of childhood and youth go so quickly. Don't waste your youth wishing you were older. Enjoy the specialties of being young.

Remove, v. 10. Remove sorrow from your heart. There seemed to be a lot of sadness and sorrow in Solomon's heart. He used the word "sorrow" and "travail" numerous times in Ecclesiastes. "Don't be a sad person," he seems to be saying. "Be joyful." "Don't be a sinful person either." "Put away evil from thy flesh." Sin will certainly lead to sadness. They should both be removed.

Chapter 11 has taught us some important things about life. Life without God is a monotonous cycle. Life with God is an adventure. Life without God is full of misery. Life with God is a precious gift to be enjoyed. Chapter 12 is connected and will continue redefining the meaning of life.