They Return Again

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?

One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.

The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose.

The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; the wind whirls around continually, and comes again on its circuit.

All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again.

All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:2-9 Gideon’s International Version

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the win.

Ecclesiastes 1:14 Gideon’s International Version

Scarlet O’Hara longed for the way things were before the Civil War. That was not to be.

Solomon also saw the futility of seeking satisfaction in people and things. Despite amassing wealth and knowledge, completing great projects, and marrying many wives, he realized he was grasping at the wind.

Why does chasing transitory things leave us unfulfilled? The biblical answer is that we were created to find our ultimate fulfillment in God.

People and things come and go. But the spiritual satisfaction Christ offers sustains us in this world and will endure into eternity.

Invest your life in what pays eternal dividends.

Our Daily Bread – December 4, 2008