Eternity in our hearts - Ecclesiastes 3:9-14

I've just reached what is probably one of the most important parts of the book of Ecclesiastes (in my opinion) and so i would really like to share it as i do think it is probably the main point of the whole book! Here's a section of the notes i took as i read from this passage this morning:

The author of this book explains that in the set time that God has put us here to live in this world, He has also provided for us things to enjoy. But He has also made these things temporary so that we may not seek these things but seek the hand hat provides them - the Almighty Himself, who has given us our lives and everything we have. We were made with a longing for something so much more than just the temporary things of this life. Although He does allow us to enjoy the things of this life, the transient nature of such things makes us crave the eternal (as the author says, "He has set eternity in the hearts of man, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end" - v 11). So, just as He is the giver of all that is temporary, He is also the only one who can give us what our hearts crave - the eternal. Our hearts' desires confirm this longing because nothing in this world can satisfy.

Thus it makes sense that the things in this world are, as the author makes clear in the first few chapters, "meaningless" (or in the original language, a "mist" - i.e. transient and impossible to grasp). It makes sense that the author finds no fulfillment in the things of this world - in toil, wisdom and riches - for we were created so that our only possible way of finding fulfillment is through the God who created us. Nothing that God has created can be taken from this world - all of it is His. Nothing can be added to His creation, for He alone is the Creator. All these things are there so that we can find enjoyment - although temporary - and that enjoyment is there to remind us of the one who lets us enjoy such things; to remind us that we need Him. The world is made in such a way that we might fear Him and seek Him.

It's a shame that the world has gone so far astray - seeking and serving created things rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25). How can we not see that we are so utterly dependent on Him? How is it that we put our trust in temporary things when we know that such things will fade just as we will? Why is it that we get so caught up in temporary pleasures that we fail to seek the one who gives us these things for our enjoyment?

The world and its order is indeed frustrated, but God is still the one that is in control. He will make all things beautiful in its time, so we must wait patiently, knowing that He who provides things for our enjoyment will also quench our desire for the eternal. Who else can we put our trust in?

I hope you can take some time to read up on this passage, and perhaps all of Ecclesiastes, and i pray that it can bless you as much as it has blessed me :)

(On another note, photos of yesterday's hike are up on facebook :D)