Living for Eternity in a Temporary World

Human experience and personal reflection give rise some difficult tensions. “How do I find pleasure and purpose in this world, when it seems like life is just a set cycle of birth, life, and death?” Eternity is in our hearts, but our life on earth is temporary. The answer the world tends to give is “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” And it almost seems like Solomon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, agrees with this, throughout the Book of Ecclesiastes. Is it really our lot in life just to be born, enjoy daily blessings, and then die? Are we any better off than all of the less intelligent creatures of the earth? Or maybe even worse off, since they don’t ever suffer over these questions of meaning? As we continue in our series through the Book of Ecclesiastes, Michael Vaughan will explore these questions that arise from Ecc. 3:12-22, and look at how to live in the tension–not with angsty cynicism, but with real hope-filled joy in Jesus Christ, the eternal one who took on temporal flesh, dwelt among us, and gives us the ability to live in the light of eternity.