My second child recently turned seven months old. Though I experienced these same developmental milestones with my first, something about this second time around has left me even more in awe of how quickly babies grow and change. In his first few days, my son could only hold up his head for seconds at a time. When he came home from the hospital, he could only see about fifteen inches away, just far enough to make out my face as I held him and stared at his tiny features. He can now see me clearly from across the room and crawl toward me as fast as his not-so-tiny legs can move.
I sometimes wonder if that’s one of the reasons he cries on occasion, even when every need I can think of is met. Because today, his world looks totally different than it did yesterday. The whole world is open for discovery, but that growth meant a sharp change in perspective.
I imagined that sort of cry at the end of our reading today. The author of Ecclesiastes has been writing at length about life “under the sun.” A life where delight fades, strong men stoop, songs grow faint, and dust returns. A life where so much is “absolute futility.” Then, in the last few verses, there are these words:
Be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this:
fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity.
For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing,
whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:12–14).
For almost the entirety of my professional career I have worked in publishing, and I always want to voice a hearty “Amen!” at verse 12. There is no end to the making of books, to writers and philosophers and poets and politicians and artists and parishioners trying to make sense of our place as humans in this world. But the path to seeing our days differently is made clear here, because there is more to see than we once thought. For every single one of us, the key to meaning is the same: fear God, and keep His commands.
This is for all of us, because God is for all of us. He is our Creator, whose eyes saw us while we were still being formed (Psalm 139). He is our Sustainer, who knows when a single sparrow falls, clothes the flowers of the field, and anticipates our needs and worries (Matthew 6:25–34;10:29–31; 1Peter 5:7). He is our Savior, who invites us to follow Him and be part of His kingdom work here and now. His Word equips us to see our world through His perspective, and recast all our days in light of eternity.
So remember your Creator, find your confidence in the Lord. He is the resurrection, He is the life. This is for all of us, if we’ll just take hold and believe it.
Amen…powerful
Dear Diana Fleenor, I pray for your complete healing. I feel so prompted many times though until now i figure how to leave comment, I want to share with you the testimony of healing from Fibromyalgia of Niki Ochenski, you can search for this on youtube, under Andrew Wommack Ministries. They have done so many in-depth teachings on Healing series with testimonies of incurable diseases from real struggles, and through all God has faithfully healed and walked with the people. Please do not give up. God bless you. May you fight back any sickness that has kept you bound strongly like a warrior and renounce it in the name of Jesus.
Angie, in response to your post yesterday about what you can do this summer, I have been thinking about and will start after my move, sending out either Bible verses, sayings or even, in your case some of what you have posted, to different friends, family and church members. I was thinking of adding either a magnet or some cute or beautiful sticker or both so they can put it somewhere where they can read it daily. I have done this with multiple sayings from books I have read. I have one on my TV I read every morning and night and I have two on my fridge. I have written mine on colored index cards (which you can buy in large packages cheap).
Ash, might I suggest you and your husband go on Facebook to Life 88.5, it’s a Kansas City based Christian radio, and check out #togetherkc. They helped area churches with a protest in a main area of Kansas City.
Pam K., I worked several years with dementia patients and it’s a devastating disease. I am praying for your family and you but know you will meet again one day.
The last two verses of Ecclesiastes 12 “13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” is how I need to start to live. Father, help me to keep your commandments and remember You and Your Son are the Ones to obey, You are the Ones to bow down to, the Ones who are there when I need some one. You are there in the good times and the bad times. Amen.
Gosh. Just so much perspective, phrased so simply.
Michelle reading, no praying your pray I felt as if God gave you those words for me. That was my life! Thank you for putting how I lived and felt into words. God Bless!
I don’t have a lot of energy to write this morning, but I wanted to thank you for your prayers. And to share one quick praise. A friend with a similar illness has been struggling in the pit of suicidal thoughts and the other night we cried out to the Lord together in a deeper way than before. Last night, two days later, she told me that though her pain still haunts her, she has come to truly believe she is a child of God! Her expressed confidence in this truth is greater than I’ve ever heard and I am just so grateful to the Lord. So even as I feel my own pain and difficulty, I see the Lord working through what might seem like “vanity”. Though we have trouble in this world, we can take heart because Jesus has overcome the world (of vanity)!
After this reading, I’m going to reflect today and enjoy the life god has given me! I’m going to be thankful for this day, his faithfulness, provision, forgiveness, and eternal love.
Last night my daughter graduated from eighth grade. Virtually. Even though everything looked different for the class of 2020 our students will never forget this! We made it extra special for them with beautiful yard signs acknowledging our graduates! I’m sure that all over the US you saw all those 2020 yard signs. My verse for my daughter is 1Timothy 4:12. Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young…
She is blossoming into a beautiful young lady who loves Jesus! My heart is filled with joy! Even though she can be a little stinker at times, life has been hard for her but she fixes her eyes on Jesus and encourages others to do the same. Last night we made some noise! To keep the social distance in order our family and friends came in their vehicles with the balloons honking in her honor. SO BLESSED!