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Despite man’s mundane achievements, life is utterly pointless unless he realizes and achieves its real purpose.
LIFE IS FRAIL and short. The Bible aptly portrays it as “flowers that fade and shadows that vanish” (Job 14:1–2 Contemporary English Version), “short-lived as grass” (Ps. 103:15–16 God’s Word), and “like a puff of smoke, which appears for a moment and then disappears” (James 4:14 Good News Bible).
Despite man’s dogged quest for the fabled “fountain of youth”—to stall aging or prevent death altogether—he remains totally powerless over death:
“As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. …” (Eccles. 8:8 New International Version)
The reason: the Creator of life has also appointed death for all men (Ps. 89:47–48; Heb. 9:27).
Not only is life fleeting; its end may come abruptly:
“You never know when your time is coming. Like birds suddenly caught in a trap, like fish caught in a net, we are trapped at some evil moment when we least expect it.” (Eccles. 9:12 gnb)
Faced with this grim reality, man owes it to himself to make his earthly existence as worthwhile as possible. Solomon, in his heyday, sought to live his life to the fullest by accomplishing great things (Eccles. 2:4–9). Nonetheless, this is what he came to realize:
“So I came to regret that I had worked so hard. You work for something with all your wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then you have to leave it all to someone who hasn’t had to work for it. It is useless, and it isn’t right! You work and worry your way through life, and what do you have to show for it? As long as you live, everything you do brings nothing but worry and heartache. Even at night your mind can’t rest. It is all useless.” (Eccles. 2:20–23 gnb)
Despite man’s mundane achievements, life is utterly pointless unless he realizes and achieves its real purpose—something Solomon understood:
“After all this, there is only one thing to say: have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that human beings were created for.” (Eccles. 12:13 gnb)
Man’s supreme obligation is to fear God and obey His commands, which he must fulfill from his youth:
“So remember your Creator while you are still young, before those dismal days and years come when you will say, ‘I don’t enjoy life’.” (Eccles. 12:1 gnb)
This is what each of us should ask and examine: Do we satisfy our reason for being? Are we living a purpose-driven life, one that is devoted to obeying the will of the Lord God? What is one of God’s express will that we ought to obey?
In Ephesians 1:9–10, Apostle Paul stated:
“Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” (New King James Version)
Notice how God wants all creation to be “gathered together” in Christ, as opposed to being divided or in disarray. This can be achieved only by having all people become members of Christ’s body:
“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” (Rom. 12:4–5 nkjv)
The one body of Christ where all men should be gathered—in fulfillment of God’s will—is His Church, the Church Of Christ (Col. 1:18; Acts 20:28 Lamsa Translation).
Though Church Of Christ members also experience death, they have a life hidden with Christ (Col. 3:3)—the everlasting life they will enjoy in the Holy City (Rev. 21:1–4). Their devoted service to God will never be in vain because their deeds will follow them (Rev. 14:12–13).
Only by being a member of the Church Of Christ and by serving God faithfully until the end can one live a truly meaningful and purposeful life.
This article was originally published in the Pasugo: God’s Message magazine.
