Thank you all for reading my little novella, Out of the Chute in Azalea Heights. Perhaps someday it will be published between physical covers made of paper to be held in physical hands made of skin.
Now we will return to more spiritually stimulating words. The next blogs will be my work toward my second devotional book-- a sequel to Broken Jar:365 Days on the Potter's Wheel--entitled, perhaps, Still on the Wheel.
“I have come that they might have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10
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So many people, sadly even Christians, go through one shipwreck after another searching for an elusive thing called peace. We think we have found it in a certain new possession, hobby, philosophy, or relationship, only to find that with each new second wind there lurks— and usually not far behind— another wall. We smack into these walls time and time again, but often, even before the bruises can heal from one disaster, we have taken up yet another trivial pursuit with reckless abandon, believing this time will be different.
Ecclesiastes testifies against this kind of false thinking. This “Preacher” (v. 1), whom most believe to be the luxuriously wealthy King Solomon, expounds for most of the book’s twelve chapters about the intense frustration of looking for peace in all the wrong places. His words are meant to save us the time, trouble, and heartache of continuing to put our eggs into flimsy baskets. He warns us that although work is better than idleness, knowledge is better than ignorance, sufficiency is better than destitution, even such exalted qualities as these— a good job, a sharp mind, and financial independence—must ultimately conclude as a meaningless “striving after wind” (1:17; 2:17) without the proper attitude about God: “The conclusion when all this has been heard is fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person” (12:13). My guess is that the reason He says “to every person” is that he wants us not to have the mistaken idea that beauty, riches, or intelligence will make any of us the kind of a person whose life has enough meaning to foster an abiding peace.
Solomon had learned that a life without meaning was a life without peace. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that this God Solomon warns us to fear and obey sent Him “that we might have life and might have it abundantly.”
Surely what Jesus meant by abundant life was a life characterized not by vain strivings but by peace. Unless we first take the time and trouble to pursue real answers –the Truth— about the meaningful kind of life Jesus came to give us, our pursuit of peace will lead us down one dead end road after another.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.’” Jeremiah 29:13-14
