Don’t Forget the Sameness of Life

It is difficult to read the book of Ecclesiastes and not have a different mindset about life and eternity. There is a sameness that invades every human life, even though we take precautions to avoid the sameness. Here are four examples. There is good news, but you have to read the entire book to get it.

Five-Minute Friday: Same and the Book of Ecclesiastes

“The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. Then I said in my heart, ‘What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?’ And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 2:14-15

“For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 3:19

“It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.” Ecclesiastes 9:2

“This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.” Ecclesiastes 9:3

The Conclusion of the Matter is Two-Fold

We need to have the right view of our origin. We are not evolutionary accidents. We also need to have a right view of the Creator. He is also the Judge.

In chapter 12 verse 1 the Preacher says, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’”

The final words of the Preacher are: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

Anyone who thinks they have a blameless or sinless life is self-deceived. But there is hope for those who stand before the Creator Judge.

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

Jesus told his followers they had to be perfect like the heavenly Father is perfect. Anyone who hears that realizes that he or she has not “kept his commandments.” If that was the only thing Jesus said, then everyone gets the same grave and the same judgment.

However, that isn’t the only thing Jesus said. In John 3:14-17 he predicted his death and his cross but he did it to reveal the antidote. Followers of Jesus have taken his words to heart and their believing changes their view of death and their view of the remaining hours of their lives.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:14-17

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.