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The picture is finished. This passage adds the final brush strokes. Or, to use our other analogy, Solomon has found all the pieces of his jig-saw puzzle. He has sorted out and discarded unneeded pieces. He has come to his conclusion — his climax — and there is nothing more to say.

I wonder, did he look back over this work and feel that he had accomplished what he was after? Or did he feel a bit empty, as if he had done his best, but it didn’t quite come out as he had expected?

Ecclesiastes is a one-of-a-kind work of art. It is different from the rest of the Bible. It is very much a “treasure in an earthen vessel” — the work of an imperfect person, written from an imperfect perspective. Yet we are all works in progress. We are all imperfect persons. We all see the world and life from an imperfect perspective. So, we should be able to relate to Ecclesiastes because it doesn't just reveal to us what Solomon was like. It also reveals to us what we are like. We are the people trying to find our way through the futility and vanity of everyday life, along crooked paths, some of which are of our own making.

Don’t look down on Solomon and his failures. He personifies the weaknesses of being human, yet trying to serve God. We are no different than he was.

Everything is Beautiful

I recall driving home late one night after a hard day of teaching. At that point, my life was very full of “travail” and it seemed like I could hardly handle it anymore. I was driving down a dark country road; it was a beautiful, clear night and the stars were shining brightly. I pulled to the side of the road and wound my window down. I leaned back and just looked at the stars. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the stars shone brighter and brighter, and I started to see details in the heavens that I didn’t even know were there.

We spend so much of our time surrounded by light, that we seldom realize what beauties we miss in the darkness. But that night I just gazed at the sky and meditated. God had made all of this beauty, and much more that I couldn’t see with the naked eye. I’m not sure why He bothered, unless it was just that He could do it, and wanted to show us just a bit of His glory.

I sat there for at least fifteen minutes, forgetting everything else. When I finally pulled back on the road, I was refreshed. The day’s “travail” had fallen away. I had a glimpse of God that night that I have never forgotten. Well, maybe I have, at times, but every so often I remember. And it works its miracle in me anew.

One big difference between a man and an animal is the ability to appreciate beauty. We were created in the image of God. One of the atributes that God passed on to us was His appreciation of beauty. He built beauty into creation everywhere, then gave us the ability to appreciate it.

So if travail is overpowering you, and life seems to be out of control, just step aside for a few moments. Look at the stars, or admire the mountains, or the flowers. And think about the God who took time to surround you with beauty. Even Jesus did that. When the pressure became too great for the disciples, He told them to come apart into a desert place, and rest a while (see Mark 6:31). Sometimes we need to do that.

Read: Ecclesiastes 3: 9 – 15
For Discussion:

We take life’s simple joys and beauties for granted far too much of the time. Because of this we often miss some great blessings God has given us.

• • God created you with the ability to appreciate beauty. What does this tell you about God?
  • You can find beauty in nature, in music, and in literature. You can see it in the innocence of children, in the sound of a waterfall, and in the singing of birds. How does the ability to appreciate beauty set us aside from the rest of God’s creation?
  • How does beauty help us find meaning in life?
  • Why is it important to sometimes take time to come apart and rest a while?

Wisdom is one of those things that mostly happen while we are looking the other way.

Agree, or disagree? Why?

lesterb wrote:

Wisdom is one of those things that mostly happen while we are looking the other way.

Agree, or disagree? Why?

In my own life experiences, I cannot agree with the bolded. Wisdom for me came in those moments of failure; of pain; and in the accumulation of experiences of a lifetime.

MaxPC wrote:

lesterb wrote:

Wisdom is one of those things that mostly happen while we are looking the other way.

Agree, or disagree? Why?

In my own life experiences, I cannot agree with the bolded. Wisdom for me came in those moments of failure; of pain; and in the accumulation of experiences of a lifetime.

In a sense, though, you are saying what I did. Wisdom comes through experience, rather than research. You can't take a university course on wisdom. And during the moments of pain and failure, you aren't thinking "Oh good, I'm getting wisdom."

[bible]James 1,5[/bible]

[bible]James 3,13-18[/bible]

How about this?

The future and the past are very tightly linked. The only thing separating them is that immeasurable moment called now.

How long is now?

But all of eternity is trapped inside that immeasurable moment we call now, because the past and future don't exist in eternity.

lesterb wrote:

MaxPC wrote:

lesterb wrote:
Agree, or disagree? Why?

In my own life experiences, I cannot agree with the bolded. Wisdom for me came in those moments of failure; of pain; and in the accumulation of experiences of a lifetime.

In a sense, though, you are saying what I did. Wisdom comes through experience, rather than research. You can't take a university course on wisdom. And during the moments of pain and failure, you aren't thinking "Oh good, I'm getting wisdom."

[bible]James 1,5[/bible]

[bible]James 3,13-18[/bible]

I see how you're using "looking the other way" now; for me, that phrase struck me as someone who was deliberately seeking the world and fleeing God. I approached it from the view that a man was already a Christian and was looking toward God to understand his situation... rather like Job. I think I'm also still tired

lesterb wrote:How about this?

The future and the past are very tightly linked. The only thing separating them is that immeasurable moment called now.

How long is now?

But all of eternity is trapped inside that immeasurable moment we call now, because the past and future don't exist in eternity.

In Catholic World we've discerned there's two kinds of time: chronos which is the human conception of linear time. And kairos which is defined as God's definition of time.

MaxPC wrote:

lesterb wrote:

MaxPC wrote:
In my own life experiences, I cannot agree with the bolded. Wisdom for me came in those moments of failure; of pain; and in the accumulation of experiences of a lifetime.

In a sense, though, you are saying what I did. Wisdom comes through experience, rather than research. You can't take a university course on wisdom. And during the moments of pain and failure, you aren't thinking "Oh good, I'm getting wisdom."

[bible]James 1,5[/bible]

[bible]James 3,13-18[/bible]

I see how you're using "looking the other way" now; for me, that phrase struck me as someone who was deliberately seeking the world and fleeing God. I approached it from the view that a man was already a Christian and was looking toward God to understand his situation... rather like Job. I think I'm also still tired

lesterb wrote:How about this?

The future and the past are very tightly linked. The only thing separating them is that immeasurable moment called now.

How long is now?

But all of eternity is trapped inside that immeasurable moment we call now, because the past and future don't exist in eternity.

In Catholic World we've discerned there's two kinds of time: chronos which is the human conception of linear time. And kairos which is defined as God's definition of time.

Those 2 kinds of time are actually fairly clear in the NT, if you take he 'time' to read it carefully.

lesterb wrote:

Wisdom is one of those things that mostly happen while we are looking the other way.

Agree, or disagree? Why?

Agree. We have a list of old farmer quotes on the fridge. One says: "Good judgement comes from experience, and a whole lot of that comes from bad judgment".

silentreader wrote:

MaxPC wrote:In Catholic World we've discerned there's two kinds of time: chronos which is the human conception of linear time. And kairos which is defined as God's definition of time.

Those 2 kinds of time are actually fairly clear in the NT, if you take he 'time' to read it carefully.

Indeed! That's where we discerned it from. The book of Job has references as well.

RZehr wrote:
Agree. We have a list of old farmer quotes on the fridge. One says: "Good judgement comes from experience, and a whole lot of that comes from bad judgment".

Thank you. I'd forgotten that one! It seems I'm a lot more forgetful these days.

If you don't mind I'll put it in the old sayings thread. Unless it's already ther and I've forgotten