“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2.
Haruki Murakami, in writing his book ‘Kafka On The Shore’, recorded the following exchange:
“‘When I was fifteen, all I wanted was to go off to some other world, a place beyond anybody’s reach. A place beyond the flow of time.’
‘But there’s no place like that in this world.’
‘Exactly. Which is why I’m living here.’”
One of the interesting things about the book of Ecclesiastes is that it is very ‘this-earthly’. It focuses on this life, not the next.
As Christians it will be far better for us to live in the sinless paradise promised to us in the next life. In fact, Paul even tells us that his desire is to depart (die) because that means he will be with Christ, but he recognises that while he lives he has important work that Jesus wants him to do, a work that he has committed himself to completely.
It’s also the Apostle Paul that encourages us in a whole plethora of ways to keep our focus on our ultimate destination – heaven, and the new earth – but Paul doesn’t want us to forget about this life in looking ahead, but rather to live our lives now in light of that promised future.
What this means for our study is that if we are really looking forward to being with our Lord Jesus Christ physically then we ought to live our lives in anticipation of that glorious future by seeking to be with Christ now through His Spirit.
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” declares the Preacher of Ecclesiastes, but when? When is life so vain and pointless? It is when that life is lived without God.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that before our conversions we “were without Christ… having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).
We have been there. All of us. We have all lived within the vanity of vanities without God in the world. Can a Christian, then, truly be satisfied with going back to that?
If we are content to live a single day without seeking communion with the Lord Jesus Christ then something is seriously wrong with our Christianity. It must be!
What are you seeking for in this life? Is it laying up treasure in heaven? Is it in working toward those things for which no thief can steal or moth destroy?
What are you seeking your pleasures in? What are you seeking to make you happy? Is it in communion with Jesus Christ? Is it in both serving Him and seeking Him?
We hear warnings about not letting our life pass us by, don’t we? It’s very possible to sit back and watch your life pass you by. Some people like to sit alone in coffee shops, ‘people-watching’ through the window, watching with great interest as a variety of people pass by. For many people that is what we do with our lives – sit back and watch it pass us by with varying degrees of amusement and fascination… or despondency!
Its also very possible to live within the life and still let it pass us by – that is to say, we are so focused on doing what we are doing when we are doing it that we fail to pause and really consider just what it is that we are actually doing with our lives.
What is it you’re living for? What are you seeking for and aiming for in your life?
It’s important we take the time to ask ourselves these kinds of question because life is passing us by constantly, and we may live our lives not knowing what we are living for and working towards – we’re just doing, with little forethought or understanding about what or why.
A life lived without Jesus Christ is a life lived in vain and entirely hopeless. It is a life that is completely empty of real and lasting joy, seeking for itself treasures which at best are temporary, that will soon pass away.
Even as Christians we must ask ourselves: “Have I sought my Lord Christ today, whether in prayer, Bible study or worship?” Because if I haven’t then it has been a day lived in vain. It is another day where I have left my precious Lord Jesus waiting at the door, where He is knocking, desiring to come in, but we have not found the time or the will to open that door and let Him in.
This world is a vanity of vanities without God. It is a sinful world; corrupted and perverse; a tiring and exhausting world; an empty world, lacking meaning, satisfaction and lasting joy.
If you are a Welsh rugby fan then I hope that you know which hymn this is, written by the Welsh poet par excellence (or perhaps rhagoriaeth?) William Williams, that reminds us that we are pilgrims travelling through a barren land. Our lives are like a potentially long and difficult journey through a desert barrenness; it’s a journey that tires us, exhausts us, drains us and can easily discourage us.
We need to eat of the true Bread of heaven if we are to have strength for this journey. We need to drink of the waters of life - of that crystal fountain from “whence the healing stream doth flow” - if we are to have true refreshment for this journey.
This bread and this water both come from real communion with Jesus Christ. To live without Him is vanity. To live without Him is hopeless. To live a life apart from Him is to waste that life that God has given to you as a gift. It is the vanity of vanities!
“Are you thirsty? Are you empty?
Come and drink these living waters,
Time unbroken, Peace unspoken,
Rest beside these living waters;
Christ is calling, find refreshing,
At the cross of living waters.”
“Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.