Rejoicing in God

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.

All of the talk in Ecclesiastes about the meaningless of things and enjoying life to the fullest (like it’s a big party) have always felt contrary to the rest of the Bible, but it actually compliments what Jesus said about not worrying about tomorrow (Matthew 6). I look at Ecclesiastes as permission for our souls to breathe and enjoy the blessings God has given us.

At first, it read like, “Everything’s going to hit the fan, so party like there’s no tomorrow!” It seems like opening the doors to chaos. Rioting. Looting. Debauchery. It’s like my group’s final project in my high school Spanish class. We were all seniors and decided to do a skit mocking people in the class who we were never going to see after graduation. We went for it, making fun of their accents, quirks, and even teasing the newly engaged Senorita Valdivia by wearing giant ring pops on our fingers. It was all done in good fun and spirit. Everyone laughed along with us. But the idea was the same. Who cares what we do now? We’ll never see them again. There’s no tomorrow between us.

But think of it for a second. What I missed the first time around is that Ecclesiastes was written to the children of God. What would happen if God’s people acted like there’s no tomorrow? I don’t think we’ll riot, loot, or commit depraved acts. I hope not. I think a heart and life truly changed by God stays committed to Him ’till the end and onto forever.

Instead, I think we’ll make the most of the time we have. We’ll have potluck dinners and gather with family and friends. We’ll talk about Jesus to whomever will listen and invite them to join God’s eternal party. We won’t worry about the tomorrow that wouldn’t come. We won’t stress about things that might or might not happen because we only have today. We won’t waste what little time we have on things that we don’t really care for, and we won’t allow other people to waste our time either.

What if we lived each day like that even if tomorrow keeps coming for the next hundred years? What will we let go of? What will we strive to do? Ecclesiastes presents a good approach to life because life is fleeting. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Let’s stop storing treasures we plan to enjoy someday, and rejoice in what God has given today.

Worship Song: Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for your abundant blessings. Thank You for Your consistent provisions. May I live in a way that brings glory to You. May my actions bring people into a relationship with You. As I wake up every day, may I listen to and accept Your invitation to communion and rejoicing. In Jesus’ name, amen.