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Oct.15.04: Light for the Day - "And This, Too, ..."
-- 1 John 2:17
"The world and its desires pass away,
but the man who does the will of God lives forever."
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It is said an Eastern monarch once chaged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations.
They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away."
How much it expresses!
How chastening in the hour of pride -
How consoling in the depth of affliction!
-- Abraham Lincoln
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-- John 8:32
"Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."
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-- Luke 21:33 (Mat 24:35)
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
-- Matthew 5:18
"I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
-- 1 Corinthians 13:8
"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."
-- Isaiah 54:10
"For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," Says the LORD, who has mercy on you."
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-- James 4:14
"How do you know what will happen tomorrow?
For your life is like the morning fog --
it’s here a little while, then it’s gone."
-- Ecclesiastes 1: (Vanity of Vanities)
1 These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.
2 "Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "utterly meaningless!"
3 What do people get for all their hard work?
4 Generations come and go, but nothing really changes.
5 The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again.
6 The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere.
7 The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea.
8 Everything is so weary and tiresome! No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
10 What can you point to that is new? How do you know it didn’t already exist long ago?
11 We don’t remember what happened in those former times. And in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.
12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.
13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done in the world. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.
14 Everything under the sun is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
15 What is wrong cannot be righted. What is missing cannot be recovered.
16 I said to myself, "Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them."
17 So I worked hard to distinguish wisdom from foolishness. But now I realize that even this was like chasing the wind.
18 For the greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
-- Ecclesiastes 2:
1 I said to myself, "Come now, let’s give pleasure a try. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless.
2 "It is silly to be laughing all the time," I said. "What good does it do to seek only pleasure?"
3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. While still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I hoped to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards.
5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees.
6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves.
7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who lived in Jerusalem before me.
8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
9 So I became greater than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. And with it all, I remained clear-eyed so that I could evaluate all these things.
10 Anything I wanted, I took. I did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work, an additional reward for all my labors.
11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless. It was like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
12 So I decided to compare wisdom and folly, and anyone else would come to the same conclusions I did.
13 Wisdom is of more value than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
14 For the wise person sees, while the fool is blind. Yet I saw that wise and foolish people share the same fate.
15 Both of them die. Just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is all my wisdom? Then I said to myself, "This is all so meaningless!"
16 For the wise person and the fool both die, and in the days to come, both will be forgotten.
17 So now I hate life because everything done here under the sun is so irrational. Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
18 I am disgusted that I must leave the fruits of my hard work to others.
19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? And yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work. How meaningless!
20 So I turned in despair from hard work. It was not the answer to my search for satisfaction in this life.
21 For though I do my work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, I must leave everything I gain to people who haven’t worked to earn it. This is not only foolish but highly unfair.
22 So what do people get for all their hard work?
23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night they cannot rest. It is all utterly meaningless.
24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that this pleasure is from the hand of God.
25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from Him?
26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please Hhim. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please Him. Even this, however, is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
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-- 1 John 2:17
"The world and its desires pass away,
but the man who does the will of God lives forever."
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