“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
In Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon “the Searcher” investigates some of the rules and principles in life. He mentions one here.
The system we’re in now, “under the sun,” is broken. (You may remember in Eccles. 1, we threw a wrench in God’s perfect system with our sin.) However, this fallen state is not our ultimate destination. God put eternity in our hearts.
C.S. Lewis described it this way: “A mold in which a key is made would be a strange thing, if you had never seen a key: and a key itself a strange thing if you had never seen a lock (The Problem of Pain).” In other words, we have been created for heaven as a key has been created for a lock.
Since eternity is set in our hearts by God, something else awaits us when our death finally comes. Until then, there is something within us that is restless and dissatisfied – even when our needs are met.
Part of that restlessness is this divine spark Solomon mentions here. We were made by God for God. St. Augustine declared: “Thou has made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until we learn to rest in Thee.”
So, one of the challenges in life is learning to channel that restlessness – this divine pull to heaven.
Evolution has no answer for our divine restlessness. In this worldview, we are simply primates living to fulfill our urges and needs. Then we die.
You and I know “…this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” (Hebrews 13:14, NLT) Again, C.S. Lewis said: “Our Heavenly Father has provided many delightful inns for us along our journey, but He takes great care to see that we do not mistake any of them for home.”
Solomon reminds us there’s beauty in life “under the sun.” Just imagine what heaven will be like! Join us Sunday for my message from Ecclesiastes 3, “Protocols and Principles,” and let’s talk.
Hope to see you then!
