"He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." - Eccl. 3:11
What an incredible gift, or curse, God has placed in our hearts. The concept of eternity. For the believer, it is the ultimate carrot to keep us pursuing God, to strive to find and develop a deeper relationship with Him. To have the security and blessing that despite the troubles we face in our lifetimes, there is the promise of an eternity with Him. However, for the non-believer, there is the curse of an unquenched thirst; the unwillingness to have the faith to believe, but being unable to shake the instinct that there must be something else, something eternal.
I think God put eternity in our hearts as the driver to seek Him. Like a hunger pang drives us to the pantry, the pang of eternity drives us to question and seek God. I thank Him for letting me discover and get to know Him, and for continuing to fill me with hunger pangs to get to know Him more deeply. The thirst is never quenched.
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ReplyDeleteThroughout Ecclesiastes, Solomon refers to what man tries to accomplish "under the sun". He classifies these endeavors as meaningless. He calls them a "chasing after the wind," which interestingly enough can be just as easily translated a "longing for the spirit," (reh-uth: chasing/longing; ruwach: breath/wind/spirit, same word used in Holy Spirit), indicating our continuous search for fulfillment until we find it in Him.
ReplyDeleteThis "under the sun" is our horizontal view of life. And it leaves us frustrated, as it seems to accomplish nothing. Our attitude, therefore, can be none other than try to enjoy the temporal pleasures it gives, namely food, drink, work, money (Ecc 2:24, 3:22, 5:18, 8:15, 9:7, 10:19). This is the most man can do given these limited parameters.
But there is an important distinction that arises in chapter 3. There are appointed times assigned from a third dimension -- up. Here, Solomon gives us the new phrase, "under heaven" and adds God to the process. These appointed times mean something in eternity, and are not meaningless, when given from "under heaven" from the Eternal One, instead of "under the sun" created by our own hands.
That is why placing "eternity in our hearts" is so important. Because even when we can't see the fruits of our temporal labor, we also "cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end" (3:11). What reassurance!
Sorry, there was a spelling error in the first comment. Can't... handle... it... must... delete.
ReplyDeleteI see eternity as a hope. I see it is as there is always a chance for that child to get it together. There is always the chance for that young person to learn one more thing, maybe THE thing about what Christ did for them. I see it as a hope that I can ease one more lonely heart from a life without a positive male role model. Eternity is hope.
ReplyDeleteSusan... funny. thanks for sharing!
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