Meaningless! Meaningless!

Those were the words I read as God led me to a passage in Ecclesiastes today. I can remember reading those words for the first time, years ago as a child, and feeling so so confused. How could God create a life that is meaningless? Why would he create everything in the world if it didn't have a purpose? Taking a look at the passage, and its *context* I now understand. The passage reads:

"'Meaningless! Meaningless!'
says the Teacher.
'Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.'

What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries bac to where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
All streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one can say,
'Look! This is something new' ?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
There is no rememberence of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow."

Solomon, the writer of this passage, was King over Israel in Jerusalem. He had EVERYTHING. Wisdom, wealth, power, EVERYTHING. And yet, he said over and over how it was all worthless. his meaning in doing so, was to teach the people that the only meaning in life is in God. If we live our lives for money, for beauty, for power... our lives will end with nothing but emptiness. the only way to live a fulfilling and happy life; one which we can look back on with satisfaction and fulfillment, is to live for God.

That does not mean that it is wrong to prosper, or to enjoy the things that God gives us in life to enjoy. Enjoyment, experience, and happiness, are much different than the purpose of life, though they are both a part of it. God intends for us to experience both the good and bad that this world has to offer... to build our character and to help us become better people. The only way to find true meaning and purpose in life is to focus it on God. After the focus is set to God, all else follows.

Time to readjust my purpose, and to find what God's plans are for me, instead of MY plans for God.