ECCLESIASTES: BRINGING MEANING TO LIFE.  CHAPTER 3

Given that time passes so quickly, how do you make the most of this life? 3 things from this passage: 1) life never stops 2) life never satisfies 3) life is a gift

1) Life never stops:
Time and timing are important.  These verses highlight the various seasons we have in life.  It says some will be planting (starting new things) other will be uprooting (getting ready to leave or finishing).  Others will be casting the net wide while others will be focussed on bringing everything close. For some in the world it is a time for war.  For others they are doing anything they can to bring peace.
What time is it for you right now?

2) Life never satisfies:
Even though this repetitive view on life is a wonder, it also has a darker, more disturbing side.  For the next verse asks a rhetorical question (verse 9) “What does the worker gain from his toil?”
He is asking a massive question which some of you may ask from time to time.  Is there any point to all this?  Do we gain anything from toiling away in this life? Y’see if there isn’t any point to life then you will feel trapped in a never ending system that you have no control over and that is often messy and difficult.  This means ultimately we dance to someone else’s tune and our choices aren’t really that free? 

This contributes to the writers sense of depression and cynicism about life - Life is like a chasing of the wind. You never catch it, never grab it, always slips through the fingers so ultimately it’s hopeless. 
Surprisingly, this is how the bible describes life.  Genesis 1-3 describes the beginning of time.  Reveals a world that was perfect, seasons passed and God and man enjoyed the passing of time together.  But mankind decided they wanted to go it alone and destroyed the perfect relationship with God and time.  As that broke down, so did the rest of life.

3) Life is a gift.
The most common way people deal with this is by living for the moment and making the best out of life. ‘Seize the day’.  Make the most of every moment.  Sounds good advice but it is not what our writer says to do. 
Look at verses 10-11 “I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 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.”
He says, I know what is the answer (the burden God has laid on men).  God is responsible for the good you see around you (he has made everything beautiful in it’s time) but he has also put something in everyone man and women that cries out that there is more to life than just life (he has set eternity in the hearts of men). 

Great truth is this - That life itself was not meant to fulfil us but rather point to someone else.  A greater person.  Life’s temporary, every changing nature points to one who is constant and never changing.  And too focus just on the gift of life is to ruin the gift and miss the giver. It’s as if the writer suddenly makes sense of it all, the cloud lifts and he shouts: “12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.”  He says we can only truly enjoy the best bits of life is we realise it is a gift.  And the best thing about the gift is the giver.

Do you know the test that shows you whether or not you understand what this writer is saying?  Who do you thank for this life we have? 

For Christians, it is God’s Son, Jesus Christ that we thank for bringing meaning to this life.  The bible says he helped created the earth, that he helps maintain this world.  He was so committed to it’s inhabitants that he became one of them, a man.  He lived a life of thankfulness to his Father. Jesus knew that we would be jaded, cynical, trapped if we didn’t turn to him.  Life would be a burden.  Time would tick on.

Today, why don’t you return to the God of all time.  Humble yourself.  And say thank you.

Eccl 8:12 “Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.”

Questions:
1) What times is it for you or don’t you know? Describe the season of life you are in using the verses above.
2) Explain in your own words the writers attitude to this life (use Eccl 1 to help you).
3) Do you agree that this is the bible’s assessment of the world?  Perhaps read Romans 1 and discuss it together.
4) The writers way to deal with life’s difficulties and hardships is to remember that life is a gift and points to a life giver (remember the illustration of the engagement ring).  Discuss this together.  Where in life does the gift become the focus of our attention?
5) How practically do we live this out together?
6) How do you live a thankful life?  How do things like fasting, worship, prayer, generosity help foster a lifestyle of thanksgiving.