WHAT IS THE POINT?

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” —Ecclesiastes 12:13   

Assuming most of all who will see Avengers: Infinity War have already seen it, I want to use an example from the movie to make a point today. For those who are unfamiliar with it, basically this really evil dude named Thanos collects six incredibly powerful stones called the infinity stones and uses them to become a ruler over the universe. His actions cause half of all who live to disappear into non-existence, leaving the rest in pieces having lost so much. Even the Avengers Heroes are unsure what to do and question if they will ever restore the universe to its former order. After seeing the movie, I asked myself, “What’s the point to everything that already happened in the series?”

Life can feel the same way. Questions are left unanswered and things don’t always make perfect sense. The Teacher in the book of Ecclesiastes investigates all of life and finds meaning to be almost impossible to discover even after asking so many questions and investigating very carefully. He says:   

“The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”—Ecclesiastes 9:11

When we get to our verse of the day at the end of the book, we find a conclusion to all of the confusion. Ecclesiastes after going through all of life, through youth and old age, through wealth and poverty, in working and in resting, concludes with a single point: 

“Fear God and keep his commandments . . .”

This simply means that we have to respect God out of a pure love for Him and obey what he calls us to do. What is the point? God extended love to you so that you could love him back. Where relationship was lost at the beginning, Christ restored our relationship to God through his obedience. We are called to that same obedience through the loving mercies of our God. 

DIG: Read through Ecclesiastes 12 and write down your observations. What is the Teacher asking the young to do?

DISCOVER: Where do you fall short in fearing God? In keeping His commands? What will it take to make that change?

DISPLAY: Where many of your friends or family might not find meaning in life, show them that life does have meaning and purpose. Show them what you are learning and pray that they may find meaning in life too.