This summer, our church is being led through the book of Ecclesiastes. The writer, who refers to himself as The Preacher, offers us wisdom on how we ought to view our earthly life and all its pursuits. The book can come across as cynical regarding the purpose of life, frequently repeating the refrain of “vanity” (meaningless). However, it ultimately reveals the advice of a wise elder who has learned the true meaning of life.
In the book’s third chapter, we read a familiar passage explaining how our lives are often marked by various seasons.
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
This is a passage most commonly reflected upon when attending funerals. It is a reminder that in this life we will experience seasons of happiness and seasons of heaviness. Seasons of plenty and seasons of poverty. Seasons of love and seasons of loneliness. But all these emotional highs and lows are not the substance of our life.
Rather than waiting until “later,” let’s be a church who heeds the call of wisdom NOW. Rather than being driven according to the season we are in, my prayer is that Eastmont would be undeterred in two ways. First, we must “remember [our] Creator in the days of [our] youth” (Ecc. 12:1). As we pursue different ventures in our families, careers, and times of enjoyment, we must always remember that our identity as believers and followers of Christ Jesus is what defines us first more than our identities as spouses, parents, employees, or anything else. Ultimately it is to our Creator whom we must be held accountable.
Second, we must invest in the eternal. All the aspects of this life that we deem as most valuable will, one day, amount to nothing…except people! As followers of Christ, we must see the value of our neighbor in light of eternity, and we must lovingly plea with them to follow Christ along with us! This Summer, our various age groups are attending mission trips, summer camps, and more, where the opportunity to share the gospel with others is at the forefront of our minds. But investment in the eternal cannot be something that comes in seasons. There may be many times for different purposes under heaven, but one purpose surpasses them all. Remember your creator as you invest in eternity by making the gospel known in Montgomery and around the world.