Dust in the Wind

I close my eyes Only for a moment, and the moment's gone All my dreams Pass before my eyes, a curiosity Dust in the wind All they are is dust in the wind Same old song Just a drop of water in an endless sea All we do Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see Dust in the wind All we are is dust in the wind Don't hang on Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky It slips away All your money won't another minute buy Dust in the wind All we are is dust in the wind This song provided a powerful ending to a series of teaching at church. Last week's discussion about destiny isn't part of the series, but it dovetails nicely with today's lesson, which is about finding the meaning of life. The series is called "Shipwrecked Faith" and is about the life of King Solomon. King Solomon is the son of King David, the greatest king of Israel and beloved of God. God promised David that there would always be a descendant of David on the throne of Israel, and throughout time preserved David's line so that the promise would be kept. And though some may not believe it, God kept his promise. God preserved a remnant, as he always does, so that his promise to the world could eventually be fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the king of the universe who now reigns next to God the father. Anyway, David's son Solomon was the wisest man to live on earth, and was one of the wealthiest kings to walk the earth. And yet he turned his back on God, and chose to rely on himself. Solomon was also beloved of God, and God granted Solomon wisdom at Solomon's request upon assuming David's throne. But Solomon in his avarice would eventually sow the seeds that led to Israel's downfall, and only toward the end of his life did he realize that all of the empty pursuits of this world's pleasures are meaningless. Hence the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, in which Solomon airs his ultimate despair - "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." Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 So what? Nothing is gained under the sun - without God. We need to have a relationship with God and Jesus. I found these points interesting: a relationship with Christ provides an eternal perspective to life; contentment with what we have; confidence in God's sovereignty, and hope in the light of our mortality. The discourse in the comments of my post about destiny center around confidence in God's sovereignty. People that don't believe in God think that there is no way that a loving God would permit suffering or pain. Because bad things happen, God couldn't exist. I think that such a position presumes that we know better than the one who designed the supersystems of supersystems of supersystems that is our bodies, the earth, and the universe. If I got everything I wanted when I wanted it, my life would be pretty messed up, and I'm more of a traditional "good kid." The position also seems to forget that God is just, and while he forgives sin for our eternal souls, sin still has consequences in this life. All the things we seek in this world - its wisdom, its pleasures - they really are like chasing the wind. What is there to do, except to get more?

A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26

We are here for such a short time, not even a blink of an eye relative to God's understanding. There must be something more to it, isn't there? I like to think that there is, and there is comfort in the thought that there is. If I am wrong, I am a fool. But I could be worse things than that. So I will continue to have my hope.