Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Proper Perspective

I.                    A purposeful life understands all things through proper perspective in Christ; so we must see that life in this world is frustratingly beyond our control and short lived (Vv. 1-9)

a.        Solomon’s objective here isn’t to assess life’s events as good or bad, he simply desires to contend that everything in life occurs within its fixed season, is unavoidable, and completely beyond our control. It doesn’t matter whether we consider people, animals, plants, geologic, or cosmological existence, all things exist within the cycle of coming into and going out of physical existence, and no matter what we think, we’re powerless to control it. Seasons of killing, healing, tearing down, and building up are also inevitable experiences of life. To “kill” here refers to just capital punishment, wartime retaliation, or self-defense, and not murder. But his point isn’t to condone killing, but to point out that it and healing are an inevitable and unavoidable experience in the building up and tearing down in life “under the sun”. Life under the sun is full of experiences of weeping and laughter, and mourning and celebrating as we experience the highs and lows, gains and losses, and struggle to make sense of it all. Throwing and gathering stones could refer to the act of rendering an enemy’s fields unworkable during times of conflict by filling them with stones, and the removal of those stones after conflict to work the field and build new structures. And it could refer to the sexual union between a man and woman, and its positive and negative results in proper and improper seasons. Like embracing, and not embracing, there are seasons of connection and separation in which we participate, but don’t control. Then he describes how our possessions, no matter how valuable and desirable they seem to us, are tarnished by time, and become lost and forgotten. Next he observes the tearing apart and sowing together of mourning over loss, and then carrying on, the times when it is wisest not to speak, and when it’s wisest to speak. Finally, Solomon observes that human experience inevitably and unavoidably consists of seasons of love, hate, war, and peace, and even though we desire love and peace, we’re not in control. Taken in full, he concludes that there’s no profit in life “under the sun” and apart from God. Our attempts to control our existence in our own strength to produce a net gain in life, actually only produces a skewed perception of net loss, and an experience of helplessness. We gravitate towards the extremes and become increasingly frustrated. We must seek balance and perspective because control is unobtainable. But how? (Vv. 1-9; Gen. 3:17-19; 9:6; 2 Sam. 12:15-23; 2 Kings 3:19, 25; 1 Chron. 15:29; Job 1:21; 14:5; 24:1; Ps. 31:15a; 97:10; 139:13-16; Prov. 8:3; 18:6-7; 21:23; 26:4-5; Eccl. 1:1-3; Song of Sol. 2:7; Isa. 5:2; 28:24-29; 46:9-10; Jer. 18:7-9; Amos 5:15; Matt. 7:6; Mark 8:35; John 13:34-35; Rom. 3:23; 12:15-21; 1 Cor. 7:3-6; Jas. 1:19; 3:3-12; Rev. 21:6; 22:13)

II.                 A purposeful life understands all things through proper perspective in Christ; so all that happens in life must move us to trust in the One whose work lasts forever, who alone gives purpose to all things, and to live according to His perspective (Vv. 10-15)

a.        Solomon set out to see and try everything “under the sun” so that he might discern proper perspective, and understand how to live with meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in life. As he reflects on these cyclical and uncontrollable aspects of life, he realizes that it’s God alone who sets all these things in their appropriate season, and assigns them purpose and value. Further, all humans perceive that we’re timeless beings trapped in the redundant, fleeting, and expiring cycles of life “under the sun”, that there must be more, and we desperately desire to understand what that is. However, because we desire to lord over life, and try to control it through our own intellect, ability, and power, we become trapped in our own limited scope, and grow frustrated because we can’t understand or control life no matter what intellectual, emotional, social, relational, governmental, or spiritual approaches we attempt. But the answer isn’t found in what we can or can’t do, it’s found in what God can do, and we must see that each experience and event in life “under the sun” is completely controlled by God, part of His plan and purpose, and summed up in Jesus. So without Christ as the foundation of our lives, none of our intellect, efforts, relationships, or experiences will be able to make sense of life. God desires for us to be dissatisfied and frustrated in life “under the sun” when we’re not in fellowship with Him through Christ! If we’re missing Jesus as the foundation of our lives, our perspective on every event in life will be skewed, we’ll only find the frustration in life, and we’ll never experience the relief of trusting that God is fitting all the pieces of life together into a grand mosaic for His glory and our greatest good! So we must trust in God, be in awe of Him, and seek to see all things through His perspective, then we’ll find meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in all things, and enjoy even the simplest things along the journey because we’re in God’s hands! (Vv. 10-15; Gen. 50:20; Ps. 4:7-8; 104:1-2, 14-24; 127:2; Eccl. 1:13; Matt. 7:24-27; Acts 17:24-31; Rom. 1:18-25; 8:18-39; 1 Cor. 10:31; 2 Cor. 5:7-10, 14-21; 12:7-10; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 1:9-13; 2:8-10; Col. 3:1-4, 23; Phil. 4:4-13; Heb. 11:1, 6)