Ecclesiastes 12:1-14
Do No Forget Your Creator
1 Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
“Everything is meaningless!”
The Conclusion of the Matter
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13 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.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
John 10:1-11
Jesus Came to Earth So that We Would Have Life and Have it More Abundantly
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
When we begin our adolescent years in life we do not know much of anything...We have no worldview...But at the time of our birth we have just started our journey through life...We are cared for by our mothers and fathers or those who raised us...Their influence greatly impacts how we will live out our lives...But life is not this random event but a journey through the time that we are here on earth and just taught by our parents about the Way of Life...Our Way of life is Greatly Enhanced when we follow what Jesus Teaches us in the gospels...Followers of Jesus believe that all things were created through Him and that God spoke all things into existence in the beginning...And on the sixth day of creation God created man...And God created man in His Image...God is Spirit, so we being created in His Image means that we are drawn to thing Spiritual...Being created in His Image, we know the difference between right and wrong...Right and wrong on earth are God's Natural Laws of Man...So when we break His and these Natural Laws of Man, we have done wrong...We have sinned...So we need a forgiving God, to help us with these sins...And He is a very forgiving Father...Jesus gives us the Parable of the Prodigal Son who sins through excess living, and then returns to God and and his Father...Our Father immediately and very joyfully takes the sinning son back, even though he now has nothing...We are able to continue our lives when we do wrong, because our Father does not condemn us, but saves us through His LOVE for us, with His Son Jesus, who He has made our Savior...Our Savior saves us from our sins, so that we can confess our sins and after confessing our sins, we still can live a full and abundant life...And being made in His Image, we have this need and desire for justice and mercy and righteousness...We also know what love is because God is LOVE...And because we are made in God's Image, we are able to have a relationship with Him, a loving relationship...He is our Creator, so we are drawn to Him and seek Him and His Word...And His Word in the Bible is Truth..
Jesus tells us that He has come to testify to the Truth, and when we know the Truth, it will set us free...Jesus before His arrest and crucifixion, says He is Truth...So He is the One who sets us free from sin...He also tells us that He came to earth so that we might have life to the full - a full and abundant life...But we need saved from our sins...He also tells us that in this life we will have troubles...But when we follow Him we are better able to face these challenges, these trouble of bad health, decreasing health in our later years, accidents, tragedies, calamities, grief, the loss of friends and families, or whatever they might be...Abundant life journey is belief in God and His Son, an abounding fullness of joy and strength for spirit, soul and body and the love for others...An Abundant life brings a better peace and patience in your journey...An Abundant life is contrasted by a lack of feelings, an emptiness, a void you cannot fill, some frustrations in life, and dissatisfaction over how things are going in your life...Seeking an abundant Life increases your interests and desires, and such feelings help motivate you to seek God and His Son for the meaning of life -so that your current life may be changed upon finding and believing in Them...
God tells us early on in Genesis, we are the stewards of the earth, so we are to live in a Way that helps it also be clean, healthy, and flourish...And so, Jesus teaches us that we are to do good in this world...We are to love God and to help others...We are to value all people (not just our friends and families)...We are even told to love our enemies...So we are to improve earth as best we can in different ways...We are to have positive human rights in all nations, be peacemakers everywhere, help the poor and needy -wherever they might be...Therefore, we are to live in peace with all people, as we put our neighbors needs above our own...We are to do what is good and hate what is bad, and not make up lies and false conspiracy theories that divide us...Harmony and love and mercy and forgiveness are at the forefront of Jesus' Teachings...Jesus is full of Grace and Mercy...Let us be positive for human rights, animal rights, and for safety in all our communities...Let us work to make all living things live together happily and healthfully and in this harmony...
Jesus, to me, in His Teachings have similarities to some of the thoughts of the author of Ecclesiastes...The Ecclesiastes author, has been through a lot, and saw all life as meaningless and riddled with mystique, but in his conclusion of the matter he tells us to fear God and keep His commandments...Jesus to wants us to love and respect God, keep both the Father and His commandments, and follow His Teachings all throughout one's life...In doing that we find this purpose in life...And life makes more sense with faith...