“The meaning and purpose for your life in 2026!” Ecclesiastes 12:13

A few words about the New Year…

It’s hard to grasp at times how fast life is moving. Life really never slows down, it can’t… time moves at a steady pace… but when life feels slow its usually because we are able to give more of our time and attention to the people and places that need it the most, or are that are the most important.

Life just rolls on… and that’s actually one of the primary thoughts in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

[1] The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. [2] Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. [3] What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? [4] A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. [5] The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. [6] The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. [7] All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. [8] All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. [9] What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. [10] Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. [11] There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.

The questions that he asks here at the beginning of this incredible work is real. “What does man gain by al the work at which he toils under the sun?”

No matter what you or I do, everything keeps moving on. Generations come and go… the wind blows, the rivers run, the sun rises and sets.

As he says in verse 9, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

I promise this isn’t supposed to leave us in despair. But it does highlight the possibility and reality of despair that many experience. Without purpose and meaning and significance to life we are left with emptiness… and Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes presents the question that we all face- What is the purpose and meaning of life? & What are you and I supposed to do with the life that we have to live?

At the end of his book, Solomon provides a simple answer to the meaning of life and what we are supposed to do with it:

Ecclesiastes 12:9–14 (ESV)

9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

As this year rolls into another year, and we begin another trip around the sun, what are you and I supposed to do with our lives? Look with me at verse 13.

“The end of the matter, all has been heard, Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”- verse 13

Here, Solomon gives us what he calls the “whole duty of man.”

At the end of all that Solomon has learned and experienced, he drops this final nugget of wisdom. But, this piece of wisdom is not something that closes the door on a conversation so we can move on to something bigger or better. No, the final portion of wisdom that Solomon doles out does the opposite of closing the door. Solomon opens our eyes to the purpose and significance of life. (Or, as the question is posed in many of the oldest confessions of faith)

What is the purpose of your life? Where will you find meaning and significance? (What is the chief end of man?)

This is the question that all people, in all times, and in all places are seeking to know and understand. And right here in the closing sentences of his wisdom letter, Solomon sums this all up with a sentence. And, to make sure that we understand the fulness of what Solomon says, we should look to the early days of creation and ask “Why did God make the earth and everything in it?"

Everything in God’s creation has a purpose

Proverbs 16:4 (ESV), 4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.

God’s created everything to bring Him glory

Psalm 29:1–2 (ESV) says,

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Here in this Psalm God tells everything in the earth and in the heavens to worship and glorify Him. In fact, the Bible tells us over and over again that creation points us to God, and through scripture we know that creation does not tell us enough of who God is… and the dilemma with not knowing enough is that creation doesn’t help us to know what He desires or how we can do something that is pleasing to Him. We must have the Scriptures, and through the Scriptures we are able to make sense of the purpose and nature of the creation we are part of. God made the whole earth to bring Him glory, and through Creation he aims and invites us to know Him more. Or as John Calvin put it,

"there is nothing in the ordinary course of nature, throughout the whole frame of heaven and earth, which does not invite us to the contemplation of God." - John Calvin

We know that creation was made to glorify God, and we know that mankind has sinned… so what then can we say the chief end of man is? Or in other words, what is the primary purpose and/or goal of God in creating mankind. Ror what reason did God make man?

You were made to glorify God. (This is what it means to be made in His image.)

It says in Genesis 1:26–27 (ESV), “26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

“Man was created from the beginning in God’s image that he might image forth God’s glory.” - John Piper

Man was made to glorify God. (This is what it means to be made in His image.)

Bearing the image of God is the assignment God has for mankind. But, because of sin we have marred and stained the image of God. According to Romans 3:23 we have fallen short of the glory of God and as a result we are condemned for hell.

But, why is this the case? Genesis 2:15–17 (ESV) says, “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

This means that bearing the image of God has always included obeying God. So, when sin came into the world, it came through disobedience… and disobedience now marks the life of the sinner.

God has a plan for redeeming sinners from their sin, and that plan involved Abraham and his descendants. Abraham’s family is eventually known as the nation of Israel, and God’s purpose and plans for Israel revolve around God’s glory. Look with me at Isaiah 43

Isaiah 43:1–7 (ESV) reads,

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. 6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

God, who created Israel, created them for His glory. Isaiah uses language about the creation of Israel that is also used of Adam, and even of children in the womb. In the same way that God made Adam and Eve to bear His image, He formed and made His people for His glory.

God created all things for His glory, including mankind, and especially His kingdom… and as we consider the reality that God has a purpose for mankind… we must also consider the implication that the creator is the one who determines the purpose of His creation.

God’s purpose is what determines your purpose and gives meaning to your life.

This is a pretty easy statement to nod our heads at. But, I think if we are all transparent, there would be many men and women who are trying to determine their end, or as you might be more used to saying, they are trying to determine their purpose and significance in life.

We see this all around us in our culture. The truth is that you only have to look as far as your own heart to see the ways your sinfulness rebels against the Lord and His purposes for your life. But, you can also see it around us in small and large ways. We see it in the many times a day that a man chooses to be selfish, and we see it in the growing number of those in our country and around the world who are altering their bodies and their lifestyles to do what they see is best and right in their own eyes.

But, as the author and creator of all things and people, God is the one who determines the purpose for His creation.

According to the great confessions of faith, God has created us to glorify Him, and to enjoy Him forever. This is the full answer to the question: What is the chief end of man?

The purpose of your life is to love God and live your life for Him.

God made us for His glory, and He made us to find our greatest satisfaction in living with and for Him.

This is why Solomon says in verse 13, “The end of the matter, all has been heard, Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

The whole duty of man is to fear God… The focus here is on a sense of awe and respect for the majesty of God. And, as one writer commented, "If we really have a healthy adoration for God, we still should have an element of the knowledge that God can be frightening. “It is a frightening thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). As sinful people, we have every reason to fear God’s judgment; it is part of our motivation to be reconciled with God.” (Ligonier)

We are called to live with awe and a sense of wonder before God, and that awe and wonder are evidenced by keeping God’s commands. This is the whole thing according to Solomon. Keeping God’s commands takes us all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

When God made Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden, they were living for His glory, with a healthy and right fear of God, and they were commanded not to eat from one tree. And as long as their fear of God was healthy, then they obeyed.

But, when they turned from their fear of God, and focused on glorifying themselves in the moment of temptation, it led to the actions of disobedience. Like James 1:15 (ESV) says,

“15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

Solomon writes that in the end, we are best and most satisfied when we live for God now like God created us too in the Garden of Eden. We are to both fear God and keep His commandments…

God is glorified through us when we love Him and live for Him as we follow/obey His Word.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-11 says,

9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.

Solomon points out

God’s Word provokes us to action

God’s Word is the truth we build our lives on

God’s Word is given by one Shepherd

And with this God aims us directly to Himself, and in particular to Jesus, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep.

Jesus summed up the end of the matter, or the meaning and purpose of your life as this:

Jesus summarizes the purpose of your life in two acts: Love God with all that you are, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:34–40 (ESV)

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

This is the fuller and final expression of what Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes. The end of the matter is this-

You are to love God. This is what the OT fear of God is aiming at.

The kind of fearful awe and love that a child has for her father. And, you are to love your neighbor as yourself… because you cannot keep God’s commandments to yourself. First, you cannot keep His commandments to yourself because they aim you toward the Lord. Second, you cannot keep His commandments to yourself because they aim you toward others.

Just in case you are thinking that obeying God is optional, it’s not. Jesus said in John 14:15–17 (ESV), 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

You are right if you are thinking to yourself, but the Bible says that I am justified by my faith, not by works. Galatians 3:11 (ESV) says, “11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

But, like Solomon said- you are to fear God and keep His commandments… that’s what it looks like to live by faith. Living by faith happens in lifestyle and choices that Christians make because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2 says that you were created for good works. Like when God created Adam to live for His glory and keep his commands… or when God redeemed Israel and told them they were created for His glory, and gave them the 10 commandments to show them how to live for His glory. The redemption of Israel was to recapture what was lost in the Garden… and the same is true for you… God saves you to restore what was lost in the Garden.

God has created you, or saved you, for His glory and His commands. That’s the truth behind what Paul writes to the Ephesians… they had been saved in Christ for the works that God has in mind for them. They were saved with a purpose in mind, and so were you… and that purpose is to fear or love God and keep His commands or love your neighbor as yourself.

And the example you are to follow is Jesus Himself. Jesus demonstrated what it looks like to perfectly love the Father and others. He took the cross as a display of obedience and of sacrifice.

The end of the matter, the chief end of man, the sum of the Scriptures… Life is found in and through Jesus Christ.

Without Christ you cannot live for God. Without Christ you are dead in your sins, separate from God, and destined for an eternal hell that you deserve. But, praise God that Christ has come and paid the penalty for your sin so that you can be forgiven and saved into life with Christ.

The wisdom of Solomon is found in the person, work, and teaching of Christ. The Christian life is the display of the wisdom of God, even when the world calls it foolishness.

Who do you live for?

Are you living for yourself, glorifying yourself, fearing others, and striving to make yourself happy over everyone else, including God.

Who do you adore and love?

Do you really adore and love God? If so, what does that look like in your life right now? Is your love for God visible and expressed to Him and to others. Like when we are married, not only do we express our love to one another, we also hold our love for one another. We wear rings to signify the covenant that we make, and we live that covenant out by being faithful to our spouse. Your relationship with God is similar… not only do you show your love to Him in personal and private ways, you also demonstrate your love for Him in what you do and don’t do in public.

Who and what do you enjoy?

This is connected to your love for God… but I wanted to see if I could make a distinction to help some. My hope is that this distinction helps you to see where you really stand with the Lord.

God has created and saved you for His glory and your fulfillment. But, growing up in a place where a lot of people go to church can have some unique struggles. One of those struggles is that some people confuse loving church with loving Christ. In fact, there are many who enjoy church more than they actually enjoy God… So, when you think about enjoying and loving God, you must think beyond the weekly congregational things we do and drill down to your heart and your love for Christ himself.

For instance, are you most thankful for what Christ has done, or what church members have done for you throughout the years? I am not saying you should’t be thankful for what others have done for you… I am hoping to help some see that Christ is the pre-eminent one. He is the one we should be most thankful for, the one we love the most, the one who has loved us the most.

If you have spent your life loving church, but missing Jesus then today is the day for you to love Jesus and be saved.

If you have spent your life loving and living for yourself and other people… today is the day for you to love and live for Jesus and be saved… or repent from drifting away from what matters most.

Revival and the joy that comes from a move of the Spirit is found through humility and repentance. You won’t have that kind of experience until you draw near to God and purify your hearts and cleanse your hands.

A revived life is a fulfilled life.

A revived life is one that glorifies God and enjoys Him forever.

A revived life fears God and keeps His commandments.

A revived life loves God and loves others sacrificially

Practically Speaking (how this shapes the way that we enter into our year)

Personally

To love God and love others… what does it look like, how do we prioritize it?

Congregationally

Loving God and loving others involves embracing what is good and resisting what is evil.

Loving God and loving others means we look at life through two categories of relationship: God and others.

There are many kinds of others, but there is only one God.

Others means our family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc

Others means not self.

To love God and love others we need to move our thinking from months and years down to daily and weekly.

Love God daily by embracing Him through the Word and prayer while resisting sin and temptation.

Love others daily by spending undistracted time and serving them; while putting yourself and the world to the side.

Love God weekly on Sunday through worshipping with others and resisting the opportunities to do something else instead.

Love others weekly by gathering to talk about the gospel, getting in the Word, praying together, and encouraging one another in the faith.

There is more.. you can fast, you can take breaks from things like tv, social media, etc… but at the minimum we should love Him together in worship.

Again there is definitely more.. sharing our faith, etc…

Notes:

From Ligonier- James reminds us that though we are justified by faith alone, the faith that justifies us is never alone. It is a living faith that issues forth in works. Like Paul, he knew that we are created for good works (Eph. 2:10) and that if these works are absent then faith is absent as well.

Our righteous status before God is not earned by the works of the Law or by other such good deeds (Gal. 2:15–16). Rather, we are declared righteous by faith alone, and this faith must be a living faith that endeavors to live according to God’s Word in gratitude for salvation. If works are not present, our faith is dead (James 2:26). And a dead faith, because it is ineffectual, is really no faith at all.