Ecclesiastes 12

At work I'm very careful about my time. I want to make sure that I make the most of every hour I spend working and I want to demonstrate to my line manager and others I work with that I am being effective and not wasting time on unimportant things. I want to see results from what I do and I know that the best way to make sure my work bears fruit is to make sure I'm working on the right things.

Solomon concludes his book by telling us how we can make the most of our lives and not waste any of the time we have...


Have you ever heard someone say anything like this: 'Well I suppose I might think about God one day but I'm going to have some fun first.'?

A story is told of a circus bear who lived in a cage ten feet by ten feet square. Every day the bear would pace back and forth, ten feet one way and ten feet back. This was its life. Then one day it was time for the bear to retire and they gave him a massive enclosure with trees and landscape in which he could enjoy living out the rest of his life. As they observed the bear however, the saw that all he did was to pace back and forth, ten feet one way and ten feet back, as if he were still in the cage. He had all this new freedom and yet didn't make the most of it because all he wanted to do was to keep living his own small little life.

The best time to know God is now! People think that becoming a Christian is like getting into a cage and that somehow they will have less freedom to enjoy life but the truth of the matter is quite the opposite. Becoming a Christian is about discovering true freedom, forgiveness, life and hope.

Solomon knows that when it comes to thinking about when to know God, we should say 'the sooner, the better'. Why miss out on all God has for us, thinking all the time that our idea of fun is bigger and better than his? This is why Solomon says we should get to know God when we're young if we can. Why waste our life waiting to know God later?

And this is Solomon's conclusion on the matter. We should know and fear and love and obey God, rather than ignore him and think that we know best. His love, his life, his hope, his fun are all way, way bigger than ours and we ignore him at our peril! Living with and for God is right where we should be. We're more free, more ourselves and more alive when we're in God!

A prayer...
Thank you God that you're real and alive and fun and exciting and relevant to me. Forgive me for the times I've tried to live my life without you and help me to give you my everything because you are Lord of all. Please give me a bigger and better perspective on my life so that I can glimpse something of the way you see me. And thank you that because of your forgiveness I can be free to live life to the full and life forever with you. Amen!

Ecclesiastes 11:7-10

Now that I've turned 30, everyone wants to let me know that I'm no longer considered young. I'm an 'old man' apparently. In some ways I feel the same as I did ten years ago and in other ways I feel ten years older than I actually am! Solomon again speaks of perspective, this time for those who consider themselves young. I'll leave you to decide how much that applies to you!


I love young people. Working with adults drains me whereas working with young people energises me. I know for many people it would be the other way around but for me hanging out with a bunch of teenagers for a couple of hours sounds like fun!

Solomon speaks to those who are young but there's a clear message for everyone in what he says. He sees that young people are generally more able to enjoy things than older people. They have a clearer sense of fun and they're exploring and discovering things that older adults are accustomed to or even bored of. Solomon tells young people to go ahead and enjoy their life and have their fun and make the most of it. And to everyone (not just young people) he says we should try and enjoy all the days of our lives (v8). Older adults all too easily lose their sense of fun, exploration and playfulness and I personally think it's a real shame. I think a lot of adults could benefit a lot from learning how to play!

Anyway, there's a balance to be seen here in what Solomon says. Two dangerous extremes to avoid. The first danger is that we only focus on today and this life. We hear Solomon's advice to enjoy every day and that's where we leave it. We think that's what life's all about and we miss the point of the bigger picture. It's shallow and short-sighted. However, the other danger is that we focus so much on the bigger picture of judgement and eternity that it sucks all the fun out of living today. This is equally bad. Solomon says we should hold both in our hearts and minds - The 'now' and the 'not yet'. We should be able to enjoy all the grace to have fun in this life now without forgetting that we will be held to account and there will be an eternity where we will either be punished or forgiven for our wrong actions.

Ask yourself:
- How can I make the most of opportunities to have fun in this life?
- How can I make sure I remember the bigger eternal perspective in my life?

A prayer...
Lord, Thank you that there's more to life than what we experience now. Help me to trust you for forgiveness and remember that there will be an eternity with you in a new and perfect place. Lord, help me not to be anxious but to enjoy living in this certain hope by having all the fun to be had in this life you have given me now and in this way to share the story of the good news with others.