"I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Ecclesiastes 1:12-14
Over the years I have come to understand that there are only two theologies in the world. Here they are in very simple form: There is BIG GOD and Little Me or there is Little God and BIG ME. When you come into the knowledge of God, you will have a Big God and a little you. But for most of us, it’s the other way around. Our view of ourselves is so big that God shrinks down to a manageable size. But the Bible has a special name for a god you can manage. It’s called an idol! Men make idols because they want a god that serves their purposes.
The God of the Bible is far bigger than we imagine. He cannot be contained in any building or statue made by human hands! The bigger your God, the smaller your view of yourself, and the quicker you will fall down in worship and praise.
Why are we here? To know God. Until you understand that, you have missed the purpose for life itself. This is the “heavy burden” Solomon mentions in verse 13-the unending search for truth and meaning in life. God put the need to know Him inside each of us, then He made it impossible to satisfy that need with anything short of Himself. Ever since the Fall nothing in the world has worked the way it should. We live in a frustrating world, don’t we? You buy something, it breaks; you fix it, it works for a while and then breaks again. Eventually it wears out completely and you have to replace it. Nothing lasts forever, nothing works right.
But it’s not just creation; it’s also you and me. We don’t work right either. Children are born with horrible defects; people get cancer or Alzheimer’s or AIDS or some other wasting disease. If you live long enough, you’ll have a stroke or a heart attack or grow senile and end up in a nursing home. That’s what Paul means when he says the whole creation groans waiting for its redemption (Romans 8:22). The world is broken beyond human repair, and only God can fix it.
“Give me a lever long enough,” said Archimedes, “and a place to stand and I will move the world.” The problem isn’t the lever; it’s finding a place to stand. You cannot explain the world from the standpoint of the world. The answer must come from somewhere else. Our search for truth will always lead to despair until our search leads us back to God.
If knowing God is that important, I wonder what He will have to do to get our attention.. Our biggest problem is not that God isn’t speaking; it’s that we’re so busy we can’t (or won’t) slow down long enough to hear His voice.
Father, my mind is filled with many questions I cannot answer. Although I do not have all the light I would desire, I certainly have all that I need. Help me to believe what I already know to be true. Amen.
This is 1 of 100 daily devotionals called Something New Under the Sun.