Isaiah 8:18
“Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.”
Isaiah understood something about his life, which is often forgotten today. He realized his life was to be lived as an example. He was a model for others to learn how to follow and serve the Lord. Everything he did, including the way he raised his family, was designed to be a sign to the world in which he lived; teaching them something about the Lord.
Isaiah is not alone in this. Paul declared to his friends they should follow him as he followed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Essentially, Paul was stating, they could learn how to walk with the Lord by looking at the way he lived. Paul went on to say, every believer is an epistle or letter from God, written to the world to teach them how to live for Christ (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). In another place, Paul wrote of how each of us is on display. The whole world is watching and will determine the validity of the Gospel’s claims, based upon the way we live.
God is not expecting perfection from us, but He does require that we see ourselves as witnesses to the world. As much witnessing is done with our actions, as with our words. As we head out the door today, we should realize we are on display; the world is watching. Our lives, and lifestyles are a huge part of a person’s decision to follow Christ.
Pastor Jim
The book of Ecclesiastes is a bit like an experiment. Solomon looked at life the way a scientist does an experiment. He sought to discover the meaning of life by asking questions, doing research, creating an hypothesis, and drawing a conclusion. It is here, at the end, that he makes his discovery known to his readers. His conclusion, after years of experimentation, is that the purpose of life will be found in fearing God and keeping His Word.
Paul is reminding the Galatians that many of the behaviors and activities they were involved in, before coming to Christ, are no longer fitting. Before accepting Christ, much of our existence is spent trying to find the meaning of life, or at least some semblance of meaning. We realize something is missing, and continually search for it. We may party for while, thinking that will make us happy, or get involved in a relationship or multiple relationships, all in pursuit of filling a void or adding something to life. Some are able to realize the inability of these cravings to satisfy, and move on to something else. However, many become addicted and find themselves in bondage to the very pursuits that falsely promised freedom. Whatever your story is, you will not find life’s missing puzzle piece until you come to Christ. It is in Christ that we are made complete. “. . .and you are complete in Him, . . .” Colossians 2 :10
Years ago, I heard a story, whether it is factual, I do not know, but it told of a group of men who broke into a large department store in a metropolitan area. These cunning thieves did not actually steal anything. Instead they changed the price tags on everything. Items that were of little value were given high prices, while things of great worth, were sold for pennies. The next morning, when the store reopened, it did not take long to realize that things were a mess. The management determined, the only solution was to close for the day and reprice everything.
Back in the eighties, it was common to see bumper stickers on expensive cars that read, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” The sentiment was simple, life is about acquiring more, and happiness is found in the abundance of wealth. That might be a catchy saying, but the reality is, the only thing we win by accumulating more, is more. The Bible declares, there is much more to
Webster’s dictionary defines science as, “the accumulation of knowledge; particularly the knowledge gathered through the scientific method, which involves observation and experimentation.” In that regard, Solomon was a scientist of the highest quality. He spent much of his life in the pursuit of knowledge, through both observation and experimentation. He was a student of many fields of science, but perhaps, more than anything else, he studied human behavior. Watching the way fallen men and women behaved, caused him to come to the conclusion that humans are nothing more than highly evolved animals. Solomon’s conclusions were impacted by the lab he used for his experiments. Over and over he used the phrase, “under the sun”, which meant he was looking at things through the eyes of the natural, without any regard to the person, work, or Word, of God.
A few years ago, I stumbled across a pretty cool website designed to help create photo albums. In a few minutes, I was able to design a picture book capturing a recent family trip. Ecclesiastes is a bit like a photo album, capturing the travels of Solomon, in pursuit of the meaning of life. Solomon had the unique combination of great wealth and intellect. As a result, nothing was beyond his reach as he searched for the meaning of life, in the midst of living. His journeys took him down many different roads. Sadly, he found no matter what road he traveled, he seemed to end at the same destination. A place he called “Vanity of Vanities.”
Most of us have heard the description of optimism verses pessimism, where we look at the glass as either half full or half empty. Reading the words of Solomon, he seems to have become a guy who believes the glass is not only empty, but is broken and shards of glass are protruding into his skin. His assessment of life is that it is empty and nothing can make it better. He has come to this conclusion by observing nature and his own personal experiences. Looking at nature, he found, no matter what happens, the sun still rises, and though the rivers run into the sea, it never overflows. His personal experience showed him that no matter how much he looks, his eyes still desire to see more. I can’t really fault Solomon. I think, looking at what is happening in the world today would bum most people out, and even create in us a rather cynical view of life.
As a child I spent a great deal of time, perhaps a little too much, watching cartoons. I remember seeing, on more than one occasion, a scene where a character smelled the fragrance of a home-baked pie. The smell would lift him in the air and carry him to the window sill of the farmer’s house where the delicacy sat. Regardless of the danger posed by the farmer, he would attempt to steal the pie. While I am quite certain Paul did not see the same cartoon, he is reminding the Corinthians of the effect their lives can have of drawing others to Christ. He refers to our lives as being like a fragrant aroma that will lead other people to Jesus. Notice he refers to us as being two different aromas, to two different groups of people. If we follow his word order, he seems to be suggesting, to the Christian, the one who is being saved, we are the smell of death, while to the unsaved, we are the smell of life.
When I was sixteen years old, driving to my first part-time job, a wild thought entered my mind. I thought, “I wonder what happens after we die?” I realized later I was grappling with one of the deepest philosophical questions man has ever attempted to answer, but at that time I had never considered anything like it before. As quickly as the question entered my mind, I came up with an answer, “When we die we go to heaven.” This was followed by the question, “What is heaven?” To which I answered, “Heaven is getting to do whatever you want for all of time.” I then asked a third question, “Who goes to heaven?” To which I replied,”Those who are good.” This of course brought me to a final question, “Who is good?” My final answer was a little more difficult to develop, but there on the way to work, I determined that I was good and anyone who lived up to my standard was also good and would be allowed into my heaven. In the few minutes that it took, I had asked and answered the most important questions that a person will ever be asked. I had also completely satisfied myself with my answers. Had anyone asked me what happens after we die, I would have spoken with authority, explaining the way to heaven and the purpose of life. As you can see, there was one obvious problem; it was all a product of my own imagination! My way of living, my heaven, even my god, were the product of my own imagination.
Jim Gallagher 