Ecclesiastes 1:1-9

Eccles. 1:1-9
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 advantage does man have in all his work
Which he does under the sun?
[4] A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the earth remains forever.
[5] Also, the sun rises and the sun sets;
And hastening to its place it rises there again.
[6] Blowing toward the south,
Then turning toward the north,
The wind continues swirling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
[7] All the rivers flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again.
[8] All things are wearisome;
Man is not able to tell it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
[9] That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.

Have you ever felt like the writer of Ecclesiastes? Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. You go to work; come home, eat dinner and go to bed. You know you will repeat the same process over again tomorrow, the next day and the next day. Why? So you can continue to do the same old things you have always done. Basically, pay the bills and feed your family. It's not that these things are unnecessary or unimportant. It's just that sometimes the routine of them becomes drudgery and boredom. It all feels like vanity.

What's the answer? We must take time each day to focus on the eternal. We can do that several ways. Of course, the first and most important way is to spend time with our Creator. The God of all Creation wants to fellowship with us! How incredible! I hope this is your habit but that it never becomes simply a routine.

Second, we can share eternal truth with those we encounter. Such an encounter can take a hum drum day and turn it into an incredible spiritual adventure. Do you remember the excitement you felt the last time you shared Christ with someone? It was anything but boring!

Another thing we can do to break up the routine is read the biographies of faithful saints from the past. Recently I have been reading about George Mueller. His passion and faith have inspired me. His story has helped make the gray days of winter a little more bearable.

My point is that life may be routine, but it does not have to be boring or wasted. Not if we invest ourselves in the eternal! If we focus on the eternal we'll never find ourselves crying "Vanity! All is Vanity"