Ecclesiastes: The Adventure of a LifetimeSample

The Temporal

One of the main themes of Ecclesiastes is the reality of time. Our world is limited by its temporal nature. We cannot know what comes next or even rightly remember much of what has passed. This accounts for why our present often seems confused and hazy.

But Scripture lets us know that there is beauty in every moment of time. God has made it so. Every minute is an opportunity to know and worship God. Every moment is a once-in-an-existence chance to know God by faith.

One of the challenges for us is that God has “set eternity in the human heart.” This means we have a faint idea of forever, an inkling of eternity, but it is too big for us to comprehend. We cannot fathom beginning to end and everything in between.

So, we feel pulled between two worlds. We know eternity in our hearts, but we live in a moment. We are bound by time. We confuse the temporal for the eternal. We tend to act as though material possessions will last forever when we know deep down, they are passing. We can behave as though fame will endure, but our hearts tell us otherwise.

The bridge for this tension is to adopt a true perspective rooted in God’s Word, recognizing that humanity has an incredible opportunity on this earth: the chance to do something the angels cannot — live a life of faith. We do this by putting our trust in an eternity we cannot fully grasp or understand.

We live in time. And the beauty of each moment of time is the hint of the eternity it alludes to. Each moment has its own glory. Making the most out of our time, no more and no less, for God is a significant part of living under a true perspective of faith.

Let’s pray and ask the Lord to open our eyes to the non-fleeting truths He wants us to live upon. Let’s tell Him how much we value taking a glimpse from a true perspective of faith, and let’s ask from Him that this eternal outlook may give a framework to our dreams, our desires, and our plans. We plead that we may never lose sight of what is unperishable, so that we may understand and live our lives, here on earth, with faith for His glory.