The Search for Meaning

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

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· Last week we considered how to live in light of the end of all things.

· And thinking about the end, (whether it is the end of the world as we know it or the end of our life), should lead us to consider that age-old question- what is the meaning or purpose of life?

o Because if I know there is an end I want to make sure my life has meaning and purpose before then, right?

o Like I don’t want to get to the end, run out of time and learn that everything I did was a complete and total waste.

§ No one wants to live a wasted life. So what is the meaning of life? How do I make sure my life has purpose?

· It is a question that everyone across cultures and times has had to grapple with.

· In fact, I found a Pew Research study done in 2021 that surveyed people from 17 different countries asking them that question- what is the meaning or purpose of life?

· Family was consistently the highest answer in most countries by a wide margin.

· Some countries had a different thought- Spain put health first, South Korea had material well-being, and Taiwan had society at the top.

· There were other options to choose from- job, hobbies, nature, freedom, travel and even pets. Yes church, some people think pets give them meaning in life.

o In fact in the UK, Sweden and Japan, pets ranked higher than faith…

o Let’s get some missionaries going to these places!

· Actually, faith was consistently one of the lowest across all countries- 5thin US

· But what this tells me is that across the world people want to find meaning and purpose in their life. And yet, we are totally lost and confused. Unsure of what can actually give our lives the meaning we long for.

· What is the meaning of life? What can give our lives meaning and purpose?

· This week the preacher will begin to dissect the different options out there and help guide us as we seek to invest our lives into what matters most.

· Stand and Read Ecclesiastes 1:12-18- SLOWLY!!!!

· Again the preacher paints a pretty dire picture when talking about life and its meaning.

o Look at some of the words in this section- unhappy, vanity, striving after the wind, vexation, sorrow.

· This guy doesn’t have the highest view of things, does he?

· But lest we learn to be downers ourselves or just get stuck on all of his cynicism and negativity there is one thing I really love here- he actually asks the question. He actually looks for the meaning.

· First, the search for meaning- verses 12-13

· I like how this follows what we discussed a few weeks ago in verses 2-11. If you remember, verses 2-11 unpacks for us the never-ending treadmill or hamster wheel of life we are all running on.

o That we are all stuck on this endless rat race each week that seems to repeat ad nauseum. That we feel the never-ending story of next week waiting for us.

· And so the preacher, in light of that reality sets out to seek what the meaning or purpose of all of this is- Verse 13a

· This is his goal- Seek and search out all that is done under heaven.

o He plans to look at the vastness of activity and possible meaning givers on this planet and see if any of them can actually fill that void he feels.

§ Is it our health? Our material possessions? Our dog Spot?

· But what really sticks out to me is how he qualifies his seeking and searching out:

o Applied my heart

§ Your translation may say set my heart. There is a certain firmness to his resolve here. He isn’t willy nilly about his pursuit. This isn’t going to be something he is passionate about today but not tomorrow. He is firmly fixed on finding the answer.

§ And that term heart means more than just his affections or feelings.

§ If you are in the ESV with me you will notice a little symbol that points you to a footnote about this word.

· “The Hebrew term denotes the center of one’s inner life, including mind, will, and emotions.”

o His entire being is so firmly fixed on seeking and searching for this answer.

o But it isn’t just his resolve we should note but also his method- verse 13

o By wisdom

§ He is going to be diligent and thorough in his search. He isn’t just going to accept a simple answer. He isn’t going to be persuaded by some trite theory.

§ He is going to think deeply about this question. Utilizing all cognitive reasoning and thinking he can apply.

· Church what he is saying in this verse is this is a very serious thing. This isn’t some fun thing to fill a boring weekend. This isn’t a hobby to pass time.

o This is a life or death pursuit. This is the most vital question he has ever spent time on and he is serious about finding the right answer.

· Man, I miss this attitude. I don’t see many people with this attitude today. People think they know everything. No one seeks like this, they just Google. And whatever pops up towards the top seems to make sense and they settle on it.

o It is so refreshing to meet anyone who is asking these sort of questions.

o Satan has worked hard to keep the world blinded to the wrestle and reality of these great questions.

§ We don’t seek the answer to the meaning of life with zeal. Instead we are satisfied with what makes us feel good for a moment.

· Well Spot makes me happy today so he gives my life meaning…

· And church it can be easy for us to bemoan our society and look down on those outside the church as if they are the only ones doing this, satisfied with the lesser answers rather than seeking for the major truth.

o But church are we falling for these same tactics from our enemy?

o Because Christians we know the answer don’t we? Like we have the answer to the meaning of life here in this great book!

o Westminster Shorter Catechism- What is the chief end of man? Why do we exist- Based on the totality of Scripture- To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

§ Or see what Jesus said in Mark 12:30-31.

· Our great purpose is to love God with everything and that will flesh itself out, prove its validity by how we love one another.

· That’s the answer. The TLDR, or for today the TLDL.

o Jesus is the meaning. You were created for and exist for the enjoyment and exaltation of our glorious, magnificent God.

· This is why I take non-Christians to Ecclesiastes first. Because between chapters 1-2 the preacher shows them that all of those things they think will give their lives meaning? They won’t!

o Ex. Family, job, Spot- all will be lost. Only Christ remains!

· Those outside the church need to be confronted with this reality. But we are in church today. I am preaching to a room of people that is primarily in agreement that the enjoyment and exaltation of Christ is the great purpose and meaning of our existence.

o And so I don’t need to prove to you Christ is the meaning, (unless you are still confused about what it means to be a Christian). Rather, you need to be confronted with the reality that your life may not reflect that glorious truth.

· What we are going to see this week and the next few is that there are other pursuits, even good things, that our flesh takes and exalts to an unhealthy place. Then we try to find our purpose and meaning in those things.

· We call those things idols church. Idols aren’t just statues anymore. That worked back in the day but Satan changed up his tactics to get at us modern folk.

o These are good things like family, health even pets that are meant to lead us to the ultimate meaning of life rather than distract from it.

o Things that our enemy uses to get us to worship, focus on and live for rather than the true meaning of our existence.

· A great book to check out on this concept, one that was a massive blessing to be is Tim Keller’s Counterfeit Gods’ He does an amazing job unpacking for us these modern idols of the heart. The good gifts of God that mankind twists into pretend gods.

o And the preacher, he too is going to confront those. He is going to say hey that thing you think will give your life meaning and purpose? I chased that! I did that! I had that! And you know what? It didn’t. It let me down.

§ Because that is what these things do church. They promise us the world and sadly they let us down.

· Ex. Health

· If Jesus is really our treasure we need to actually pursue and live in that reality in all areas of life. Not just claim this and then worship at another altar.

· Over the coming weeks we will be confronted with what it means for Christ to be our treasure. But for today I want to close by looking at two more statements the preacher makes about his search for meaning.

· Finding meaning under the sun- 13b-15

o We usually see summary statements at the end of a discourse but the preacher includes it at the beginning instead.

o When he considers all the various things we do and pursue on earth, (including the things he will cover in the coming chapters), his conclusion is this- unhappy business, vanity, striving after the wind.

§ And that little proverb he shares in verse 15 is thrown in as a gentle reminder we can’t change this.

o Just as the preacher has already said, the vanity of life under the sun is set. Go ahead and try and escape it and you’ll find yourself struggling to set straight an unbendable object.

o There is no meaning, no purpose under the sun. When you look at life from a merely humanist or secularist standpoint, you will find a life that is lived in vain.

o But even in this somewhat grim statement, there is a glimmer towards the answer our souls are looking for- verse 13b.

§ Where did our unhappy business come from? Who gave it to us? The preacher says it came from God! That is a remarkable statement isn’t it!

o Contrast this with Psalm 85:12-13.

o We get that good things come from God but here the preacher says that God has given us an unhappy business. He is the one who has placed us on this treadmill of life. He has allowed us to continue in this vanity under the sun.

o And this seems like a bit of a critique of God, doesn’t it. Like why would God give His creation an unhappy business to be busy with? Why would He do that to us church?

§ Because He is oh so good. Because He is good church, that’s why!

o He gives us futility and vanity under the sun so that we will long for something more, something greater. For Him!

o Romans 8:20-25- unpack verse by verse

o Because if this world and life under the sun could fulfill us, why would we need or want God? Wouldn’t we be satisfied with everything here? Why long for heaven if we already have something close enough on earth? Why long for a savior when we don’t feel we need saving? Why long for a God when we sit on a throne ourselves?

o Laura Story wrote a song called Blessings and the final verse goes like this:

§ What if my greatest disappointments Or the aching of this life Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy And what if trials of this life The rain, the storms, the hardest nights Are Your mercies in disguise?

o Man isn’t that good? I don’t know anything else about Laura but she hit something here.

o You won’t find ultimate meaning under the sun and this is a good gift from God to help us long for and recognize our need for Him.

o Again church the question we are left with this morning is this- do we believe this not just intellectually but in practice?

§ Do our lives reflect that true meaning and purpose can only be found in the enjoyment and exaltation of Christ?

o Or do our lives reflect someone who is running from one under the sun pursuit to another under the sun pursuit to find meaning?

§ Purchases? Our time? Our words?

o Because if we realize that our meaning and purpose can only be found in Christ, then I do believe how we invest our lives has to be different.

§ Ex. Prioritize the church on Sunday

o The preacher makes it clear that there is no ultimate meaning to find under the sun. We may nod and say amen but let us be a people that actively live that reality this week as well.

· Finding meaning in wisdom and knowledge- verses 16-18

o Here the preacher begins to unpack for us the first specific pursuit under the sun he will chase. The pursuit of wisdom and knowledge.

§ But notice verse 17.

o He doesn’t just apply his heart to seek wisdom and knowledge but also folly.

o Now this is something that the preacher will circle back to in chapter 2 so I don’t want to steal all of Brian’s thunder for that sermon in a few weeks.

o But I do want to highlight a few key things from this text:

o First, notice the idol of the heart built around the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge.

§ While the pursuit of wisdom is a good thing as the book of Proverbs makes clear, the preacher notes a counterbalance here.

§ That we can’t think that pursuing wisdom and knowledge will fill our souls. That these pursuits will possibly give our lives meaning.

§ Sadly many fall victim to this trap though.

· Ex. Working at WSU, Smartest guy in the room.

§ 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

§ Our pursuit of wisdom and knowledge can’t be an end in it of itself. It needs to go somewhere. It needs to lead us back to our great need for our Savior. To an appreciation for His grace. To a humility that as smart or wise as we are, we really know so little compared to the vastness of our Great God.

§ When our pursuit of wisdom or knowledge of anything doesn’t lead us to that, then it is just an increase in vexation and sorrow as verse 18 says.

§ Pursue wisdom church as Proverbs 3 tells us. Chase after good, Godly Biblical wisdom.

§ But be careful church that your pursuit of wisdom and knowledge have a proper goal lest you be found chasing an idol.

o Second, notice the idol of the heart built around the pursuit of folly.

§ This does seem like a strange thing to pursue. A fool is consistently regarded in a negative light throughout the Bible. Read Proverbs and see how God views the fool.

§ In Matthew 5 Jesus mentions that people will be judged for calling someone a fool. It was a derogatory term, not something you would pursue or desire to be.

§ So what is the preacher doing here? Setting his heart to understand the foolish life?

§ Again this is where I appreciate his commitment to his pursuit. He has tried the wise path and that didn’t seem to give him the meaning he was looking for so now he is going to try the foolish.

§ It’s as if he is saying, I’m not getting the meaning I am looking for out of living a wise life, so I will see if I can from a foolish one instead.

· Ex. Good in high school chases crazy in college.

§ But what does the preacher tell us about that foolish life? That crazy rebellious college life? It is vanity. It’s meaningless.

§ In both the extremes of wisdom and folly the preacher finds vanity and meaningless.

o Again Brian will unpack this pursuit of wisdom and folly more with you in a few weeks but for today I hope you can see again how these idol pursuits promise much but still leave you empty. Like smoke in our hands- hevel- meaningless.

· And that’s where I want to close today. The beauty of Ecclesiastes is that it hits us at a deeper level than many of us are at or really want to go.

· It confronts us with the false idols of our heart. The pursuits we have tried to find our purpose and meaning in.

· And for those who still aren’t sure, you can’t find meaning outside of Jesus. Yes you can chase meaning in family, fun, job, travel and even pets. And that will feel good for a time! But none of those will last. None of those will fill your soul.

o So if you are here today and recognize that you’ve been chasing things under the sun for your meaning I want to invite you to instead chase the actual reason for your existence.

o Come and see that the enjoyment and exaltation of Jesus is what you were created for. Come and see life as it was created to be lived.

§ Join in the amazing adventure of a life lived fully for Christ.

· And for those in here that already confess that reality, my challenge to you is to examine yourselves. Does your day-in-day-out lived experience reflect the truth that the enjoyment and exaltation of Christ is the reason for your existence?

o Or when you look at your life do you see that you may actually be worshipping at other altars?

o Family? Job? Ministry? Fun? Comfort? Self-exaltation? Goals? Even Spot?

§ These aren’t bad things! Praise God for these things church! Enjoy them and take care of them.

§ But see them for what they are- a good gift from God not a replacement for Him.

o That idol list can go on and on. John Calvin famously said the human heart is an idol factory. We churn out new idols by the week!

o And so next week we are going to dig deep into one of the most prominent and prevalent idols in our world today. A tough one for even those in the church to turn away from.

· But as you examine your life today and start to see that there is something other than Christ you are chasing for your purpose and meaning, then today as we close in prayer I want to invite you to a time of repentance.

o The beauty of our great God is He is a God full of grace and mercy. That when we recognize that we have exalted something up on the throne of our lives above Him, we can confess, repent and He can forgive, change and help us.

· The preacher closes with these words in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

o This is the end of the search for meaning church. Let’s live lives that reflect our understanding of this reality by the power and grace of Jesus this week.

· Pray

· Invite up Shawna Hope Christian