People scurry from bed, to work, to games, to church, to bars, to stores, to here and there. Wonder if we look to God like ants look to us. They seem so busy, so intent on their tasks, and yet much of it is so meaningless. We can simply sweep our foot across their universe and destroy them at a moment’s whim and they don’t even realize it.
Yet here we are in the same boat. We could be gone in a moment’s time and it would be as if we hadn’t even been here. Yet, we would be somewhere forever. We think we can just stop existing. We don’t have that power. Even if we don’t want to exist, we can’t undo what our Creator started. He made us to last forever----somewhere.
The older I get, the more I connect to Solomon’s heart wrenching revelation in Ecclesiastes of the meaningless of life, the vanity in humans’ pursuits, and how this vapor we make such a fuss over is gone before you know it. Yet, his life search ended with the discovery of what matters: Fear God and obey Him.
Solomon had experienced it all. He eloquently tells of his vast fortune, his wisdom, and experiences that other’s only dreamed of. He goes on to say that he had not denied himself any pleasure.
“And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, an on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10, 11 KJV).
As Solomon faced being closer to the other side than this one, he felt the irony of it all. None of it brought meaning, purpose, or any eternal influence.
We start early in life, competing in all areas. We want to be the strongest, the prettiest, the richest, the best athlete, the smartest, and the most famous. We want, we want, and we want. What a waste whenever we look back and realize that most of our life is spent and our pursuits leave us empty and regretting not using our time for what really mattered. We were made to love God and reflect His glory. Yet, many of us spent most of our days seeking to establish our own glory.
The next time we look upon that mound of ants, lets recognize our own scurrying and meaningless pursuits. Let’s stop, take a sobering Solomon moment to join his infamous declaration: Its all vanity, its all meaningless. When it’s all said and done: Love God and Obey Him.