Leaving the cemetery, some of the family was sobbing: “All is finished.” Others were sniffing: “Come, come, my dear, courage: it’s finished!” Some friends murmured: “Poor man, that’s how we’ll all finish.” And others sighed in relief: “Well, it’s finished.”
-Michel Quoist
Life, what is the meaning of life? How do I find the purpose of my life so that I can live a satisfying life? Can I do something that will have lasting value? Many people never stop to think about what the meaning of life is. A famous businessman was asked what advice he wished he had received when he first started his career. He replied: ”I wish someone had told me that when you get to the top, there is nothing there.” For many years after pursuing hard, I found that many goals were actually empty. Many think that they can find the meaning of life through their pursuits. These pursuits include: a successful career, wealth, good relationships with others, entertainment, and doing good deeds, etc. In the end, many testify that despite having wealth, relationships, and fun, they still feel a deep emptiness inside—a void that nothing can fill. The author of Ecclesiastes describes this feeling as “Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities, all is vanity!”
The flip side of finding meaning in Life is the reality of death. Regarding the subject of death, we don’t want to think about it, and we don’t want to talk about it. When we talk about death in the Chinese culture, we do not mention the actual word “death.” Instead, we will give death nice names: “gone,” “passed away,” “to leave,” “to ascend/return to heaven,” “immortal roaming,” “to stretch out one’s legs,” and “to return west,” etc. In fact, it is the same in other cultures. We want to avoid things related to death but death cannot be avoided. Ecclesiastes 8:8 states that no one has power over life to retain life; no one has power over death; no one can escape. There is a saying: ”You never know which will come first: tomorrow or the Accident.“ This accident means death. In fact, the accident we are talking about may be caused by an accident but death is not an accident. Death is a “must” to happen. Death is a fact that each of us must face.
People don’t like to hear about death, so why does the Bible specifically talk about death? For example, Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of pleasure; for death is the end of all, and the living shall take it to heart.” The Bible says this again and again, just to get everyone’s attention and take it to their heart. Death is a fact that everyone must face.
Death was not God’s intention. God originally created man to live. When God breathed into the nostrils of Adam, he became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). God created man in his own image and to enjoy eternal fellowship with God (Genesis 1:26, 3:8). God gave Adam the responsibility to work the land and care for the animals- to tend all that God has created (Genesis 1:26). God created Man not only to live but to experience the abundant life- one of meaning (reflect God’s image) and purpose (care for creation). However, when Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered the world. Death brought the curse of sin: physical mortality and spiritual separation. For Humanity, death and a broken relationship with God became a reality. God made a promise to Adam and Eve to one day send a Redeemer who would pay for the penalty of sin, restore Man’s broken relationship with God, and provide a way to live the abundant life God had originally intended for us to experience.
For many, it is only when Death stares us straight in the face that we begin to grapple with the matters of finding purpose and meaning in living. Without help, our search will only lead to greater confusion and pessimism. Thankfully, God gives us books like Ecclesiastes that explores the themes of life, its meaning and purpose. Some feel that reading Ecclesiastes makes them negative and pessimistic. Ecclesiastes talks about life and requires us to face the issue of death truly, because only when a person truly faces the cruelty of death can he know the preciousness of life and cherish every day he is alive more. Yet, in its pessimism, there is the confidence of a very positive outcome. So, in my future posts, we will look into the book of Ecclesiastes and discover the true meaning of life.
To be continued…
