TO CHEW ON: "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
From earliest times, thinking people have asked hard questions. Questions like:
- Why is this world and the universe here?
- Why am I here?
- Is this life all there is?
Ecclesiastes is a book that explores such things. Though the author of Ecclesiastes isn’t named, many people think Solomon wrote it when he was an old man. In Ecclesiastes the writer describes what he has seen in his life. Then he tells us lessons we can learn.
In today’s reading the writer talks about the opposites he sees all around him. Can you add five more things to the list (Ecclesiastes 3:3-8)?
- Birth and death
- Planting and uprooting
- Killing and healing.
1. ______and ______
2. ______and ______
3. ______and ______
4. ______and ______
5. ______and ______
Some of these things are good – like planting, healing, laughing, dancing and loving. Others we try to avoid – like killing, weeping, mourning and war. The trouble is, in real life good and bad things come to everyone. So the writer tells us two ways to think of the opposites of life. He tells us that “Everything is beautiful in its time,” and “God has set eternity in the hearts of men.”
When the wise man says “Everything is beautiful in its time” he’s telling us that life’s variety can be a good thing. There is even good in unpleasant things. Through them we can learn valuable lessons like how to be patient, brave and strong.
When he says “God has set eternity in the hearts of men,” he tells us that inside each one of us is a knowing that there is more. We sense there is something beyond our life on earth. It will be a place where our questions will be answered. God has put eternity in our hearts.
Where do you think a person could find out about the “eternity” we feel inside?
A. From the wisest people on earth?
B. From the Bible, getting to know God and prayer?
C. From psychics?
D. From science books?
PRAYER: Dear God please help me to find answers to life’s questions in You. Amen.
MORE: My Opposites
- Choose a set of opposites from the list above, or from Ecclesiastes 3:3-8.
- Draw pictures of a time you lived those opposites.
(For example, if you choose birth and death, you might think of the time your baby sister was born as the birth part, and the time your pet died as the death part.)
Were they both happy? Was one happy and one sad? Were both sad? What did you learn from each of them?
Answers
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS are available too at Other Food: daily devo's.
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