When I was in High School, we had a concert choir director that came to us from the United States Navy Military Choir. He was skilled and experienced at what he did. Here we were in a small town and this brilliant conductor who had led choirs all over the world, came to strengthen our vocal cords, whip us into shape and turn us into one singular voice. We did not really know how to handle that first semester but by graduation, we sounded pretty good. He pulled out of us things we never knew we could do. It was a season that produced many good things.
One of the songs our director picked for us to sing for graduation was “Remember now thy Creator.” It was solemn, sacred. What I remember more than the song was the devotion he gave us before he taught us the song. Young people, in the days of your youth, these days, remember now thy Creator (Ecc.12). Remember where you came from, who formed you, who loves you and designed you – before the stress of life overtakes you. Remember before you get married and have to please someone else. Remember before the kids come, and money gets tight. Enjoy God now and get to know Him personally while you have loads and loads of time because as you get older that time will disappear. Plant now seeds of prayer, faithfulness, service… and when that harvest comes in –remember Who brought you there and brought in the fruit of the field.
While you are young, plant these things. He was wise. His words touched my heart. He was a Christian and he used his vocation to tell other people about the God he served. Then on graduation day we all walked up the platform to the risers and stood in formation to sing that song. In a secular environment, we belted out the praise of the Lord and the importance of remembering the God who created us all. The solemn, sacred, glorious feeling of that song in that auditorium on that day marked my life. I wanted my future to include taking time for God, getting to know God, and trusting Him throughout my life. The fear of God was not being afraid of an infinite being somewhere out there but living a life in awe and reverence of Him who loved me first.
After reading Ecclesiastes numerous times, it has become part of my vocabulary. I was talking to my sons the other day about these verses and reminded of the Jewish wedding tradition of breaking glass. The bride and groom get married and then they step on a glass and shatter it. In some circles it represents the destruction of the temple and to others it represents that in every life there will always be joy and sorrow, suffering and rejoicing. That is reality, that is truth. When we live in a fantasy realm or merely think positive wishes instead of fact, we become despondent. Faith is the substance of things not seen and yes, we can trust God for things He is wanting to do through us, but the glorious life even when our prayers are heard, is not all roses. Ecclesiastes reiterates that life does not promise perfect outcomes, no matter who you are or what path you have taken. God allows pain and misery to balance our control, to extinguish our manipulations. We live in the balance of His grace and mercy.
In chapter seven the author tells us:
A good name is better than precious ointment: and the day of death better than the day of one’s birth, it is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men: and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Why is the day of death better? Because it will be spent with our Creator, the One who made and fashioned us for HIS good pleasure.
Keeping the tension between joy and sorrow is important because it keeps us tethered to a holy God who is sovereign and always in control. When things are meaningless, vanity and do not make sense –we trust that God is still Lord. When we have run away from the rails of holiness into hedonism, folly, nonsense, and unbridled sin, we are no more satisfied than if we had spent our days in deep academic study and theological debate. Joy is not found in extremes or things not given to the Creator. That is beginning wisdom and carries on through every generation. Cars, houses, projects of enormous size and charity of huge proportions, vineyards, and song – it all ends in the same place. Nothing satisfies whether we go full hog into liberal living or laced up in rigid legalism. That is not our end, it is not our jam as the kids would say. Fearing God, living life in Him –freedom to follow and serve Him, that fills that deep void in every heart. We find meaning in His heart alone.
So, what is our meaning? We cannot enjoy people without valuing their Creator and distinct purpose in life. We cannot enjoy food or drink without contentment. We cannot have a good night’s rest without a clean conscience and having earned an honest day’s wage. Our good friend Jean recently gave her testimony in church (a Church of God) about her life in God and quoted from this book. The young teenagers, married couples, and senior citizens all praised God for His providence in their lives. It was a remarkable service that represented the generations and this book well. We need these seasoned saints to teach us, we need to remember the things they knew better than to forget.
Echoes of my grandparents who lived through the depression can be heard in these thin pages. Reminders of youthful wishes, dreams and vigor can be felt in these pages. Hopes of a future and finances saved can also be heard. Somehow towards the end of our lives we begin to get the message, the overall picture. I am very grateful for professors like my music director, for grandparents who understood lack and luxury. I am thankful for times to connect with God and delight in His presence around the table, with friends and with music and when all else fails and is in chaos, that connection gives us strength and contentment. He is enough; therefore, I am enough.
Maybe that is why Ecclesiastes also tells us that God makes everything (Hebrew Kol), ALL things, beautiful / handsome / pleasant in His time. Time is another word for season. At the end of our lives, we can look back and see the stretching of limits, the outcomes of our rush to satisfy cravings of various kinds and see what mattered and what did not.
Enjoying God, our family, meals and rest – all this is truly a gift from God.
I look back and can be thankful for a wise older man who conducted our lives and voices to work as one for one purpose – to glorify God. It set my season and my heart to seek the only One who can satisfy.
When you are free to die, free to strive after God instead of all other “fixes”, free to focus on one thing – your relationship with the Creator who made you, there is peace. There is meaning in His words and will. It also gives you rest, daily and at night.
Lord, we remember, we posture our hearts to enjoy you and remain in covenant with you. Use us in this season to delight your heart, Creator and Christ.
RenaeRoche2024